Rip Van Eva
by aisha12894
Summary: Eva is pulled into a portal that send her into the future. Who is she married to? How has her life change? Did she have kids? Read to find out!
1. A Portal?

This is my friend Jamilia ask me to put her story on line so I'm returning the favor!

Disclaimer: I nor Jamilia own OBSR, but if I did I would have hooked up Aikka and Molly

Enjoy!

Eva was enjoying a casual walk through a lush green cliffside on her home planet, Earth, while thinking about a particular special person, who name is Prince Aikka.

'_I wonder what he is doing right?_' she ponder about what the Prince could be doing at the moment, as she stroll down a rocky gravel path that slope toward a body of water with a strip of land.

Eva could feel the ocean breeze once she was on the strip of land, as she inhales the cool air when she thought, _'Aikka would definitely like our oceans here.' _

As she continues to stroll around the small area of land, she came across a dark and eerie cave that had somewhat of a mysterious appeal to her.

Eva glance left and right to see if there were any strangers around before she feel her gut tell her to go in and see what was inside.

_'This is pretty.' _she thought once she walk inside of the cave that seem to glow light blue when the sunrays bounce off of the crystals that were embedded in the rock.

She extend her hands out until she could feel the sides of the cave since the light was fading the farther she walk down. It was then that she noticed a pinwheel of blue light, which resembles a portal, appear out of nowhere. The strong pulling sensation that she felt was leading her to the portal.

'_What is this feeling?_' She thought as she lift her right hand toward the light before it completely sucked Eva inside of the portal.

_'Whoa...' _Eva thought as she was floating through a cylindrical pathway of white and yellow as she was picking up speed toward a bright white light that blinded her vision.

After a couple of minutes of traveling through the portal, she landed on lush green grass with a pond in front of her.

'_Ouch that was a rough landing!_' she thought when she shift her lower body so she could dust herself off.

When she glance upwards and the pond reflect her reflection, she notice a young woman who appeared around 24 or 25 years old. There was crimson eyes staring back at her with a star tattoo on one cheek, the woman's hair was black and tipped with a crimson red color.

'_Is this me?_' she thought as she raise her hand before she rub it up and down her face. She confirmed that it was indeed her.

"Queen Eva, there you are. You should be more careful out here on your own. You're expecting another baby soon, and we don't want anything bad to happen to you and the baby." A guard calls out to her after he approach her and help her off the ground.

"I'm having a baby?" she inquire to the guard with a confused look on her face.

"Yes, you are expecting in five more months." He informs her with his answer.

"I'm a queen to?" she pose to the guard when she recall he called her _Queen _Eva instead of Eva.

"Yes, you married the king of Nourasia." He tell her with a raised eyebrow toward the woman, who was his queen. "Now if you will follow me, I will take you back to the castle."

"And who exactly is this king that you speak of?" she pose to the guard as she was trying to figure out what was going on.

"Don't tell me you forgot your husband name?"

"Yeah," she said in a guilty tone and a shrug of her shoulders.

"No more outing for you, my queen. Besides you're married to King Aikka." He state as they were walking closer toward the castle's ground.

"No way, you're kidding me," she says out loud by mistake.

"I don't kid, Queen," he retorts in a cold manner when he turned to face her.

"I'm sorry, I kind of forgot." She quickly comments in a soft tone.

"Guard open the gate, it is Captain Rick of the Imperial Court Knights." He announce once they finally approach the gate.

"Rick is that you?" she pose to the guard as she step closer to get a good look at him.

"Yes little mouse, it is me," he confirms his identity to Eva while the gate swing opens allowing them to past through the gate.

"So you're the Captain of the Imperial Court, huh?" she inquire to the older man name Rick.

"You already know that little mouse. I guess that letting you get fresh air might have twisted your brain just a little." He replies while coming up to the door and opening it for her.

'_Man...I live in a freaking castle?_' she thought when Rick directed her to the throne room.

"King Aikka, I found Queen Eva by the pond," he announce to the worried young man, who seem to be lost in deep thought with a look of concern present on his face.

"Good job Rick. I know I can always count on you to find her for me." Aikka compliment the man as a look of relief appeared on his face.

"Anytime your majesty," he says while he bows at the waist before he turn around and took his leave from the throne room.

Aikka faced her and asked in a concerned tone, "Why did you not tell me you were going to the lake?"

"I'm sorry Aikka, I should have told you," she partially-lied to her husband.

"It's okay. Just as long as you're okay." he says when he released a sigh while he reach out and enclosed her in his arms.

'_This feels good._' she inwardly thought as she sliently enjoyed the feel of his arms.

They remain in that same position until two little children coming busting through the door shouting, "Mommy, Kiera, won't give me back my toy!" A little girl with light chestnut hair exclaim.

"Kieran wouldn't give it back!" Kiera, the boy with dark chestnut hair, retort.

"Calm down you two. Why don't you let mommy give you a ride in her star-racer." she proposed an alternative for the twins.

Both of their eyes lit up with excitement at the news, "You would mom?" Kieran ask.

"Yeah sure why now? Now go on and get ready." she says while pushing them out of the throne room.

"Do you want to have a little race, Aikka?" she inquire to her husband as she glance over her shoulder to look at Aikka.

"Eva are you challenging me to a _race_?" he question her as he place emphasis on the word race.

"What makes you think otherwise?" she retort with a smirk present on her face before she left the room.

"Where are you going? It is this way." he mentions to her as he points to the left toward the storage.

"Well hurry up then I want to exit with you." She quickly state to cover up her little slip up.

They left for the track; they spot Kiera and Kieran waiting near two rather large storage bins.

"Where is my racer?" She questions Aikka after looking around for her raver.

He signals for Kiera to open up the storage's door by tugging on the metallic bead chain which reveals Eva's Star-racer behind the door. Eva walks up to her racer and ran her hand across the cold metal silently enjoying the contact of a familiar object.

She remove her hand and face her husband. "Where is your bug-thing?" she pose to him.

"He is in the other one." he answer when he signals for Kieran to open up the other storage bin.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get our racers!" She proclaim when she seperated away from her husband and walk in the direction toward her star-racer.

Aikka strolled over to G'Dar and pet him with both of his hands, "It seem as if my wife's little adventure outside of the castle renewed her sense of adventure."

The large beatle shake its head in joy which cause Aikka to laugh at the insect's good will, "Well then are you ready to prove that we still got what it takes?"

Aikka take hold of G'Dar reins and lead the blue beetle out of the storage when he notice that his wife hoover out of the storage bin and lined up with the starting line.

"Whose riding with mommy?" Eva pose to her set of twins once she open the cockpit of her racer.

Kieran and Kiera glance at one another when the sound of wings beating gently before feeling the shake of the ground once G'Dar landed next to them.

"Dibs on daddy!" Kiera quickly shouts before taking off toward where their dad was waiting for one of them to board G'Dar

"That leaves me with mom then." Kieran declare before boarding on to his mother's racer, "Mom, why is there a bunny on the racer?"

His question cause a smirk to appear on Eva's mouth, "I'll tell you later about my races when I was on Oban. How about we focus on beating your father and sister in this race?"

Kieran simply nod his head up and down before she proclaim, "We got this!"

"That's my boy! Now strap in and get ready to leave them in the dust." Eva instruct him before she adjust her own position on her modified pilot seat.

Aikka helped Kiera up on G'Dar, before he complimented his daughter with "You made a wise choice Kiera."

"I know we can easily beat mommy and Kieran." Kiera reassures her father of their strong probablity on them winning the race.

"Excellent. Now hold on tight. G'Dar isn't so easy on new riders." Aikka warn his daughter before he could feel his daughter wrap her small arms around his waist.

_'Just like I was when my father allowed me to fly with him on G'Dar.'_ he recall the memory in a daze, which cause a smile to appear on his face.

Eva notice that Aikka was distracted so she took it upon herself to start the countdown to begin the race. "3...2...1...Go!"

The only thing that could be felt was the extreme gust of winds left behind by the the two racers.


	2. The Race

G'Dar quickly sped off with Aikka and Kiera on his back while Eva and her son Kieran were not too far behind him.

"We're winning! We're winning! Yeah!" Kiera shouts out to her father while maintaining her hold around her father's waist so she would not be easily blown off of G'Dar's back.

"Kieran, I want you to hold on to mommy really tightly. Mommy is about to pull a fast one on the first turn." Eva instructs Kieran as he follows his mother's instruction.

The turn place Eva and Kieran in the lead due to the sharp turn while Aikka chose to do a wide turn opening up the inside for them.

"Now we're winning." Eva mentions over her shoulder to Kieran before turning her attention back onto the racing course.

"Good job Mom," Kieran congratulated his mother's job on the job well done.

"Thank you sweetie but this is only the beginning." Eva thanks him while regaining her concentration before she spot a blue blur, known as G'Dar, speed right past them.

"Mommy is about to pull another trick. Go buckle up tight!" Eva orders. Kieran quickly take his seat and buckle himself in tight before she adjust her seatbelt and press her feet on the gas.

"Time to go...hyper drive!" Eva shout to herself while growing excited about what was about to happen next. She was eyeing the red button, lifting the clear rectangular lid and pushing the red button next to the steering wheel.

She could feel the engine slowly gear itself up for the burst of speed that they were about to acquire. _'Come on...work for mommy.' _she thought to herself.

Three seconds later, they lurched forward with great speed that it caught G'Dar, Aikka, and Kiera off guard.

"Hold on Kieran! We're almost there!" Eva shouts out loud enough so that Kieran could hear her.

"And the winner is Queen Eva and Prince Kieran." Rick announce over the intercom as he was monitoring the picture perfect finish before deeming Queen Eva and Prince Kieran the winner.

Aikka lands next to his wife when Eva's cockpit open and watch as the pair exchange high fives with one another and then held up the peace sign.

"We lost Daddy..." Kiera disheartedly announce to her father. The sound of chuckling was heard from her father, which cause Kiera to notice that her dad had an amused look instead of a bummed out look.

"Daddy, what's so funny?" she inquires while tugging on his shirt sleeve.

"Nothing, why don't you go play with your brother." He suggest as he unmounts G'Dar saddle and slide down the side until his feet touch the surface.

Kiera flash her father a wide smile before she hops into his arms that were extended out to her. Aikka place his daughter down on to the ground once she was secured in his arms.

"Hey Kieran!" She shouts out to her brother. "I'll race you to the garden." She suggest to her brother after running up to her mom and her brother were standing.

"You're on." He reponse with a nod of his head before they both take off running toward the garden out of sheer happiness.

"Hey Rick, why don't you take the rest of the day off? You deserve it." Aikka proposed to Rick while walking toward his wife, Eva.

"Sure...I was kind of tired anyway. Thank you." He thanked his King by bowing at the waist and leaving the duo alone. Aikka then grabbed Eva by the waist and pulled her close.

"Did you enjoy the race, my "King"?" Eva tease her husband. "It was good. You shocked me with that last move." he comments.

"Just wait till they learn how to race on their own. We have one more on the way." She says while holding her stomach affectionately with both of her hands.

Just then Aikka stomach started to growl, which in turn caused Eva to start laughing before her stomach started to growl at her too.

"You're hungry?" he ask his wife after hearing her stomach growl for himself.

"Well duh, did you not just hear my stomach growl for food?" she retorts in a teasing manner with a small smile on her face.

"Well then let's go," he tells her before calling the twins back in order to head back in for dinner.

0000

"Your majesty, you have a special guest today," a servant announce to the family of four after they were seated around the dining table with Aikka and Eva at the end and the twins on the opposite sides facing each other.

"Bring them in. Our doors are always open to guests and visitors." Eva respond before she sip water from her golden goblet. She was banned from drinking liquor since she was pregant.

"Ah its good to see you again, Eva." A golden glowing enity floats inside of the room which cause the twins to proclaim "wow" before Aikka issue him a greeting and a semi-bow at the waist.

"I would give you a bow but as you can see I can't do that." Eva mentions after saying a hello and poking fun at her pregnancy.

"So Jordan, what brings you to Noursaia?" Aikka inquires when he had a sudden rush of possessiveness at the moment.

"Just decided to stop by and see old friends and the twins," Jordan answer when his eyes fell on Eva, who was currently focusing on eating a rather tough piece of chicken.

When Aikka notice where Jordan's attention was directed at, he cleared his throat to catch the 'Avatar' attention.

"You must be hear on business in order to drop by on your many planets and galaxies to protect?" Aikka question the presence of the Avatar.

Jordan's eyes shift to Aikka, "Technically, I am but what does it hurt to drop by and say hello to a friend."

Eva knew he was beating around the bush for his answer, "What is it that you want? A simple question a moron like you can surely answer." She take a sip from her cup of water.

Aikka release a little chuckle at how Eva just addressed Jordan in her typical manner, it was good to have a humourous wife such as Eva.

Jordan wore a pained expression etched on his face after hearing her response but with the quickness, it disappeared.

"I came here to report to you that in another six months that there will be the Oban races. We would love to have two of our finest racers there to compete of course." he suggest to the parents.

Eva glance at Aikka, when she notice that his chin was on his hand, something told her that he was going to decline it but he wanted to accept it.

"I want to but I have a family to worry about epecially since I would have to leave a wife, who is currently pregnant at the time, with some guards who I can't even trust." Aikka had given rather vague explanation towards Jordan.

"Aikka...he said in six months, by then I should have bore the child and they would be ten years old." Eva pleaded with her husband while pointing at the twins.

"I can't risk losing you, the mother of my children, in a pity race that involves life and death nor will I possible race myself." Aikka stated firmly.

"Dad, you were second and mom was first, why wouldn't you want another shot at it?" Kiera inquires as she was genuinely interested in seeing her mother and her father do what they love the most racing.

"You two go on to bed _immediately_." Aikka commanded since he knew that the presence of his kids would complicate the matter further.

"You know...they'll just eavesdrop and then try to convince us to race again, Aikka." Eva calmly state after she finish the rest of the water in her goblet.

"How long do we have to think over our decision?" Aikka pose to the Avatar with a hint of anger in his tone.

"I would like to know in a couple of weeks." he issued out his deadline date.

A girl with long black hair which was worn in two parts: one part in a ponytail while the rest of it was straight down had arrived in the dining room.

Jordan notice a female around her mid 20s, with a halter top body suit that reveal her arms with sleeves starting from her elbow. It clung tightly to her body where there was a white skirt which started from the sides of her hips, where two moon cuts around the diamond cut in the middle revealing her tone abs. She wore meduim high red heeled boots with black fingerless gloves. It was red with black outlining the suit.

"Captain of the Battalion #245, Natalie Andros, I have come to report that there have been strange activities going on the outskirts of the kingdom." She reported not paying any attention to the pair of golden eyes that were practicly drilling a hole into her.

"Strange, report anymore movement to me or the Queen." Aikka orders her after he pushed his chair from underneath him and rose to his feet. Meanwhile, Eva merely observed Jordan's intense stare directed at Natalie, who connected with a pair of golden pupils before leaving the dining room.

"You may go if that's all." Aikka felt disturbed by Jordan's prescene since he brought him news of the races as Jordan took that as a signal to leave.

"Instresting," was the only thing that Aikka heard from Eva as he sent the kids off to bed.


	3. A Rough Morning

"So what do you think about it, Eva?" Aikka pose to his wife for her opinions on the situation when they stroll into their private quaters.

"We can't leave the newborn alone with the kids. They can barely keep up with each other so that's definitely out of question." Eva remind Aikka of the incident a couple of years back dealing with their two children.

"Your right but we at least need to have a racer representing Noursaia. Not only that but not that many people race here." Aikka inform her reminding his wife of where they were.

"What about Natalie? Does she know how to race?" Eva question her husband about Natalie and her abilities.

"But she can't exactly leave her post for a silly race," Aikka chimes in as he pace the floor while Eva manage to sit down on the bed with little to no problem at all.

"It's up to you. I would love to see the race but I can't participate. I'm not jeopardizing the safety of our child for a race, I'm more sensible then that." She state as she rub her round stomach soothing the kicks.

"And I don't want to race either because of you and the twins safety, but it would be nice to go with Natalie though." Aikka comment after he changed from his royal clothes into some sleeping pants.

"Yeah, it could be something like a family vacation if you think about it." Eva chimes in with hope before turning her head to see her hubsand toned abs and body. She had to cover her nose with her right hand to stop the nosebleeding from showing.

"Is that blood?" Aikka ask worried when Eva just shake her head in a no fashion while some of the red liquid had coated the furniture in the room.

"I'll clean that up. Tilt your head slightly forward and I will clean you up." He instructs her before she can hear the door open and then close.

_'I got to think of something not hot.'_ she thought to herself as she start to rack her brain before choosing a couple, _'dead cats, cold water...'_ The list continued on until the blood had stopped dripping from her nose.

"It looks like you stopped." She hears Aikka claim when he come back into the room with a First-Aid kit in his hand.

"I probably got overheated that's all." Eva explain when she notice her husband open up the kit and begin to clean away the blood and hand her some gauzes.

Eva merely observed in quiet silence as her husband took care of her. Once he completed his clean up, he returned the aid kit back, and laid down in their bed with his wife in his arms.

"So Natalie is going to be our representative for the Oban Star Races?" Aikka ask for clarification on whether or not Natalie was their final decision.

"Yes, but did you notice that Jordan was instersted in our Natalie?" Eva question Aikka when she shifted her position in order to get closer to her lover's warmth.

"What are you getting at Eva?" he inquires but was instead answer with light snoring before a smile adorned his face and his eye lids fell shut.

0000

Don Wei purposefully stroll around his company's compound while reminisining about the races that took place over his years as a coach.

It was pretty unusal to catch the old man with a dazed expression on his face whenever he would walk about the compound.

His workers knew to stay clear of him when he was lost in that moment seeing that he can still easily fired whoever disturb him while he was in deep thoughts.

Remembering during an evacuation emergency, he was in the same exact state and when the worker snapped him out of his revere, he had some few choice words to say before he fired the guy. So everyone learned to backed away during that time.

"Koji and Stan, how is it coming with the new project?" he inquired in a monotone to the mechanics as they were busy tinkering away with their latest project. Don Wei guessed it was the newest engine from the items on the packing order.

"It's going good. We should be finished so Eva can take it out for a spin." Stan reports their progress when he placed the monkeywrench down on the table and faced Don Wei.

"By the way, where is Eva?" Don Wei ask the pair since she was not bothering them at work which was unusual. She would have either been helping or tinkering with something causing for her to be kicked out on her butt.

"No, we haven't seen her at all today. She's probaly on that fixed scooter riding around the countryside." Koji states before he punch in something on the board.

"If you see her please tell her that I need to speak with her as soon as possible. It is very important." he simply said.

"Yes, sir, we will tell her." Stan replies before picking back up the monkeywrench and working on the engine.

Don Wei just turned on his heels, headed out of Station #5, and walked back to his headquaters. _'I have a bad feeling about today,' _was all he thought before he quickly submerged himself in his work.

0000

Aikka woke to the sound of birds chriping outside with one of the sun's radiant beams hitting him and his sleeping wife in their quaters.

He gently removes his arm from underneath her neck so he would not disturb her in her peaceful sleep.

After stretching out his sore muscles, there was a sudden sharp thightening in his thigh, which could only mean one thing...he had caught a cramp. It was a painful one too.

He tries his best to make as little noise as possible but the cramp disagreed with his thought process. In the end, he wakes up his wife asking her to massage his leg for him.

"It's a little too early in the morning for a massage, sweetie," she says to her husband while she stretches and use one of her hands to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"I..caught...an...ouch...a cramp," he manage to tell her through the pain he was experiencing before she roughly grab his leg and massage it hard until the cramp was out.

"That's why you woke me up?" she pose in a cranky tone when she stood up with a little wobble before catching her balance.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to but that cramp was painful and you were the only one who could get it out." Aikka apologized to his wife with a small smile while still rubbing his thigh. Eva thought that what Aikka just told her was kinda of romantic but weird at the same time

"Since we're already up, let's go for a walk. The castle is feeling stuffy today." Eva suggest to him while she slips her feet in some slippers, place a white tunic on her upper torso, and steps into a long black ruffle skirt. Aikka just wore a simple pair of brown pants and a white shirt.

"What about the twins?" Eva ask in a worried tone since she knew how their children where when they were not around to montior their behavior.

"They can sleep in some more. They're probaly still excited about having the Avatar visit them and learning about the races." he replies before he open up the door for his wife allowing them to walk out of the room.


	4. A Walk and Dad

Eva can feel a gentle breeze pass over her as it caresses her face, which cause her to cling closer toward her husband's body heat.

When the couple ventured out on their walk of Noursaia, it seemed as if the citizens were wide awake meaning that the marketplace and stores were beginning to open and start business for the day.

"It looks as if it is going to be a beautiful day in Noursaia today." Aikka mentions to his wife once he feel Eva lean further against his arm.

Eva glance up at him and then looked ahead with a smile on her face. "It sure is." she comments.

"So is your leg feeling better now?" Eva asks her husband when they walked down one of the main streets travelers would use when they would first enter Noursaia.

"Much better, thanks to you," he claims as he gives her shoulder a tight squeeze with his left hand.

"I know. I'm the healer in the family." she jokes with him as she silently takes in the entire surroundings of her new homeland.

She was married to Aikka with two twins that are different but the same with another kid on the way. She truly liked being in the role of a wife but epecially as a mother.

"It seems as if it's all a dream." she mumbles to herself but her husband heard what she said.

"If you say so." he agrees with his wife.

They both observe the citizens stroll out into the streets as they slowly start to bring life to the peaceful planet.

"When we get back, do you want to tell Natalie that we picked her as a representative for Noursaia?" Eva proposes when they pass by another couple on the street.

"Yes and we must inform Jordan of our decision." She also mention Jordan's part in her plan to her husband.

"I don't think he would think twice about coming here for _you _that is." Aikka hisses to himself when he recalls the Avatar and his actions last night but Eva did not hear what he said.

"But it's all a rush, why now, it hasn't been 10,000 years yet and..."

"Actually its almost around that time, we have exactly one more year. I thought I told you about that." Aikka notes when he stared at her weirdly.

'_Uh oh, I got to think of something quick._' she thought when she glance up at him hoping that she did not give it away with her facial expression.

"I forgot...stress tends to make me forget things." she downplays while she mentally knocks herself upside the head for that lame excuse.

"It's okay. Just as long as you're healthy." He proclaims after he patted her belly softly with his hand, which earned a smile on her face.

"Excuse me," Aikka was roughly bumped by a cloaked figure, whose head hung low so that their face could not be recognized by either one of them.

"That's weird. Usually people would wear their hoods off while in Noursaia." Aikka comments when he scan the area for the cloaked figure but his effort was to no avail.

"It's alright Aikka. It was just a gentle nudge. It's over and let's move on." Eva calmly advise her husband.

"I'm glad your here. I probably would have chased him down until I found out his identity." Aikka decribes his plan of action in a serious tone.

"Your crazy you know that." She claims as she wore a funny expression on her face while looking at his face.

"I know I am." he admits to what his wife told him with a slight chuckle.

They continue to walk until Eva start to feel winded and asked Aikka if they could stop for a break. Eva immediately noticed exactly where they were when the sight of the lake appeared in her vision.

'_This was where I was 'dropped' off and Rick found me.' _she thought to herself as she allows her mind to drift off somewhere else about when she arrived there.

"I remember I proposed to you right in this spot." Aikka recalls when he helped his wife down onto the second level where a small hill of green grass was.

"It was a day just like this." He speaks up again before he cast his gaze out onto the lake. "You couldn't believe that I found this spot and you practically fell in love with it when you first saw it. The look on your face was priceless when I was on one knee you were like 'Aikka what are you doing?' It was funny and when I asked you the big question all you could do was hug me." Aikka illustrates in a dazed tone about the day he proposed to her.

Eva nodded her head in agreement when she hugged him in the exact manner that she did from that day, except Aikka had to lay his head against her protruding stomach. He stayed there until he could feel the baby kick in her belly.

"I guess I'm not the only one who enjoys this spot." he states while he lifts his head up.

Eva stifle a laugh before she include her opinion when another breeze hit her face, "You're right the fresh air here feels good."

She can feel his arm wrap around her shoulder in a protective manner as she ease into his body for the umpteenth time enjoying the feel of his body against hers.

Unknown to the couple's knowledge two set of eyes were mointering them, a red and black eye and golden eyes. One watched in disgust while the other watch in jealousy and confusion.

0000

"Captain Andros," a solider address Natalie by her title when she turn to see someone running up to her before stopping in a mid-salute when she recognize the solider and returns the salute.

"The action just recently moved again and then suddenly stopped." the reports were bark out rather then talked.

"Strange, but solider," she pause to make sure he was paying attention to what she was about to say next, "Yes ma'am?" he ask her confused as to why she kept him in her presence.

"Here some advice for you, solider, I'm standing right next to you so you don't have to scream outloud the details of the report." she explains to him after rubbing her ear with one of her hands.

"I apologize ma'am. I will remember to work on that." he understands. He turn away and takes of running down the hall in the same fashion he did when he had approached her.

Natalie continues to venture down the hallway with various soliders of lower ranks then hers passing by and greeting her with a 'Good Morning' or more commonly heard 'Captain.'

She returns her focus back onto her stroll with a curt nod or a verbal response back to those who greeted her. Natalie pause when she came upon a golden framed portrait with a golden rectangular prism lamp underneath to highlight the subject in the picture.

The subject of the oil painting was none other then herself in a section known to the soliders and non-commissoned officers as the Hall of Captains, where those soliders who reach the rank of Captain while significantly impacting the Noursaia military in some sort of fashion.

Natalie stood in front of the portrait when a glare catch her attention which cause her to glance down. She noticed a golden flat bar etched with a phrase that read 'First Female to reach the rank of Captain.' underneath her name.

It sort of caused a feeling of pride to well up inside of her but there was a hint of remorse that came along with the picture that was placed in the hall.

Ever since she earned the coventant rank of Captain, she became untouchable to men. Instead of flirting, they would cowering in their boots at her presence or would avoid her all together, which really irritated her.

"Aw, its so good to see you, Natalie." she hears a familiar voice call out her first name.

"Same here. It's been a rather long day today." Natalie agrees with the voice as she maintains her gaze on the picture instead of the person.

"It's a pretty picture, you know." the person comments once they stand right next to her and glance at the picture as well.

The oil-painting picture held the still image of her clad in a simple elegant long white dress with quarter length sleeves with white wrist length gloves adorn her hands. She was sitting in a wooden four-legged chair with her arm laid against the surface of the table. Her metallic sword was propped against the side of her chair with the hilt close to her body while her helmet was placed near her arm on the table. Her raven-colored hair styled in long basic curls to _soften _up her facial features. Her eyes reflect a sense of seriousness which made Natalie frown.

"Cheer up! It's not that bad!" he retorts with a smile on his face.

"How did you do it, _Dad_?" she pose to the older man, who stood alongside her with equally long raven-colored hair with black glasses covering his eyes.

He lift his hand until it was at the crown of Natalie's head rustled her hair as if she was a little kid. "Come on now, that's not funny!" she proclaims as she reach up to grab his hand from atop of her head.

"Yes, it is squirt," he objects while he watches her fix her head of hair back to its normal position.

"Rick, shut up!" she exclaim after hearing the word squirt leave his mouth.

"And she shows some emotion," Rick claims as if he had discovered a long lost hidden treasure.

She just release a "humph" and folds her arms across her chest when she can feel warmth circulate throughout her body. She could only see Rick's chest when he placed his chin on her head, some would have mistaken it as a lover's embrace but it was better defined as an exchange of family love.

"I have heard some rumors about _you_ being selected as Noursaia's representative to participate in the Oban races." he hints which catches her attention as she peers into his shades.

"Are you sure? I mean I know that I can fly but not as good as you or the king and queen. I look like a rookie compared to you three." Natalie list of reasons in a rushed tone.

"So was Eva...she was a rookie when she started out and looked how she turned out to be a good pilot, a wife and a mom." He supports his claim with a small smirk.

"You got a good point there Rick." She beamed a smile that only he was allowed to see besides Eva and Aikka.

"What ever happened to you using _Dad_?" he inquires with a hint of sadness.

"You know you were never really my dad." she points out as the mood shifted from happiness to depression.

"Did it stop me from bringing you up as my own Natalie Andros, oh no! And don't you dare forget that! But anyway, I know that your parents would have been proud of their daughter in the life that you have chosen." He asserts in an encouraging tone while he shake both of her shoulders up and down.

"I think they would be to Dad, I think they would be too." Natalie express her hidden joy as it almost sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.

"Now, straighten up and clean up that face of yours! You have a job to do." he reminds her of her position when she wiped the tears away from her face until she looked like she was earlier before she meet Rick.

"Good, now I don't expect you back at the home after the curfew time so I will let you stay out a little longer tonight." He interjects before walking away from her.

It did not hit her what exactly had he said until he walked off, "Hey, I'm not a little kid anymore!" she declares as her voice seem to echo throughout the hall.

She return her gaze back toward the picture and instead of the frown she wore earlier it was instead replaced with a smile and headed in direction of her office.

0000

"Kiera and Kieran get away from there!" A housemaid shouts out when she could hear the banging of pots clanging against the floor meaning that they knocked it over with their horseplaying.

The set of twins immediately take off running knowing that their youth and speed would carry them as far away from any dangers of the housemaid's reprimands.

"I'm bored." Kiera mentions to her twin brother with a sigh.

"Well we can't do nothing fun because mommy and daddy are still out." the twin boy reponse to his twin when sudden boredom hit them once again.

"I got it!" the girl pipes up when an idea clicked in her head as if someone flip the on switch to turn on the lightbulb.

"What is it?" he asks out of pure curiosity as to what his sister was currently thinking at the moment.

"You know Morose, right?" she inquires to her brother.

"You mean that girl who attends our Archery class?" he infers after racking his brain for an image of the girl's face.

"Yeah that's the one! You know she doesn't like me right? Well...she has this click or group of fake people who laughs at every snap of her fingers, so I was thinking let's pull a prank on her." she suggest to her twin with a hopeful look on her face.

"It sounds good but I'm still not convinced that you will pull it off." he expresses his doubts while observing his twin's current action.

Kiera was trying to figure out the right words to use in order to convince her brother that she could successfully pull it off before another idea hit her.

"She's the one that has a crush on you and stalks you everywhere after class." Kiera includes in her description of Morose.

She observe the disgusted expression that appeared on his face as she knew that she had acquired his participation for the prank.

"So I was thinking that maybe we could…." She whispers the rest of the plan into her brother's ear causing his smirk to smile when he heard the details of his sister's plan.

"Are you in or not?" she declares making sure that he was along with the plan that she had set for the duo to execute together.

"Count me in!" Kieran affirms his participation in the prank against Morose before they both take off in the direction to gather the proper supplies that they needed.


	5. Love and Hate

Eva and Aikka remained in thier current position for a couple of hours before a sudden thought pass through Eva's head, which was centered on their two responsibilities at the castle.

"Aikka, what about the twins? I got a feeling that they're planning an evil scheme." Eva mention while rubbing her now sore tummy.

"Your mother's intuition again?" Aikka grouchily inquires since he just had woken up from a rather good nap.

"Yes, and its tingling too!" Eva jokes along with her husband, which earns a little laugh from Aikka as well.

"If you say so," he replies after rising up on to his feet before turning around to help his wife up on her own two feet.

"Can we at least have another _hour_ of peace?" Aikka teases when he asked his wife with a serious look on his face.

"We have busy kids so no we can't." she reminds him of Kieran and Kiera before her instincts told her to look backwards but did not see anything out of ordinary.

"What's wrong?" he inquires when he traced her gaze but did not see anything or anyone either.

"I thought…" her voice trails off before giving a shrug up and down and smile back at Aikka before showing him that it was nothing.

"You have to be careful here! Your stupidity almost had us caught." a feminine voice whispers to the figure before slowly stalking over to where the couple was previously sitting at before they left.

'_Aikka you will be mines!_' the woman chanted in a repeated fashion as if it was a mantra.

0000

Natalie was heading home before another one of her soldiers approached her again with another report.

"Captain," he salutes before she acknowledge him with a salute as well "the suspicious movement were now spotted near the Royal Park."

"You may go home, solider." She quickly dismisses the solider before recalling the locations of reported sightings.

'_Royal Park, castle's main gate, Noursaia's Priest Water Fountain, what do they all have in common?' _she inwardly asked herself as she tries to discover the connection with one another.

It wasn't until she walked pass a pair of gossiping women did the answer sudden became clear. "Did you hear that the King and Queen were in the Royal Park?"

"To bad we can't go in there since the only people who are allowed to go in are non-commoners such as ourselves?"

"I guess its a fruitless dream then. Oh did you hear about Rhonda?"

_'That's it! That's the missing link! They all belong to the royal family of Noursaia! Any one in an outside alliance within the family to overthrow could be suspected or could it possibly be foul play? Is it a deranged fan girl? The next clue should answer my last question._' she thought to herself.

"Excuse me Miss but aren't you Capt. Natalie?" a masculine voice ask her to identify herself.

"Who wants to know?" she inquires defensively when she turns to see someone in a cloak figure with their face concealed from her view.

"Just a wanderer who was entranced by the maiden's unspeakable beauty." he highlights before a golden bright yellow lock fell from his cloak giving his identity away.

'_The Avatar!_' Natalie thought as she was informed by intell that he had already left the planet.

"Is one not use to hearing a compliment from a mysterious stranger?" he questions since he did not hear a response to his other question.

"Drop the act Avatar! Your color makes you to easily noticeable." she huffs once she stroll past him only to have his golden eyes trek her every movement.

"I'm sorry we got off to the wrong start but my real name is Jordan." he introduces himself after he suddenly appears before her for the second time.

"Excuse me, but I have other issues to deal with instead of a flirtatious avatar." she scoffs once she pushes him aside fairly irritated with his behavior.

"Well I do know what your soldiers are reporting to you maybe a serious threat to your home and the royal family." Jordan interjects knowing that it would catch her attention.

Natalie froze in place before turning around to face Jordan one more time, "State your price." She answers in monotone voice.

"All I ask for is a date?" he proposed as a smile appears on his face after asking his question

As much as she would love to kill him right now, she could not because that would bring shame to all of her hard work. Not only that but the galaxies are going to have to face her decision and she did not think she can hide for the rest of her life.

"Alright I will go but on one condition…" she replies since she knew that Jordan always had something in his pocket.

Jordan's face lit up but stayed rather composed, the only reason why she accepted was so she can acquire the necessary information that she needed to find out her mystery.

"Are you ready?" he pose her once he offers her one of his arms as she reluctantly reach out to it.

'_This should be fun!_' Jordan thought as he continued to smile and lead them to their next destination.

0000

"Alright class, gather round," Canaan orders his class in a strict tone.

Kieran and Kiera take a seat right next to each other before a giggling Morose sit next to Kieran, which annoyed him even further.

"Today we will play a game. This will involve all of your archery lessons, survival tactics, and some common sense. Now when I dismiss you, you will go into the weapons room and pick out your weapon, which of course is your bow, then meet me back here in a couple of minutes."

Kiera nod her head at her twin and knew that that was the signal to be the first in line so they could enact the plan.

"Morose," Kieran catch the girl's attention, "Ladies go first," he offers after he move out of Morose's way so she could pass. Morose politely accepted the offer seeing as she finally caught Kieran's eye.

Once Morose push open the door, the pail of honey was jigging and the string was tied to the another door that had a pile of feathers that would trigger some paint to fall on her.

'_3…2…1_' Kiera mentally countdowns when a loud piercing scream followed by laughter could be heard.

"Not my new clothes!" Morose shouts after she attempts to wipe the sticky coat of black feathers away from her body but to no avail it did not come off so easily as Morose had hoped.

"What is it?" Canaan asks after hearing the loud scream since he assumed that an intruder broke into the compound.

"_Someone_ decided that I would look better as a chicken then a Noursaian!" she hisses after her eyes sharpened to see the slightest of movements that would give the culprit away.

"It was _you_!" she points out when her scan stopped at none other then Kiera.

"I'm sorry but I would never do anything that childish especially to someone with the likes of you!" Kiera response with a straight face at Morose's accusation.

"But you really would make an excellent chicken though." Kiera chimes in before Morose snapped and lounged at her with anger evident in her eyes.

Kiera merely take a side step and the girl's body flew outside in a pile of brown dirt. Morose smelled worse now when she glance back at what exactly it was that she had landed face forward in.

"Eeww gross!" she scream while throwing a mad temper tantrum.

"Now you smell like a Corinthian Horse instead of a chicken." Kiera claims before the whole class laughes along with her joke while Kieran was off to the side with an unreadable expression on his face.

"That's enough Kiera! Morose go take a shower and meet us back on the field. Everyone else pick up your weapons and follow me." Master Canaan's stern voice can be heard from behind the students as he breaks through the bouts of giggle and laughing heard from his students.

As the servant lady pulled Morose along throughout the house, she glamce back to see Kiera with a huge smile on her face while pointing and laughing at her.

'_It is so on Kiera_!' Morose angrily thought as she was devising ways to get her revenge on Kiera before they turn the corner.


	6. Dating Games

"So what are we going to do about Queen Eva? She has to be out of the picture so that I can scoop up King Aikka." a feminine voice inquires about Eva in their plan.

"If you don't shut up I won't be able to think of a plan," a deep masculine voice cuts off the feminine voice from earlier.

"Humph, you want to know something Kross..." the feminie voice interjects causing the woman to turn to face the masculine voice. "You're nothing but a big brute who does't know how to properly treat a female."

"Shush" Kross whispers to her as he covers her mouth with his right hand and pulls her near him so she would not be seen nor heard.

"I heard something over here!" One of the soldiers voices could be heard from their concealed location.

"Let's go men!" Another solider orders the group as footsteps can be heard echoing through the surface of earth. Kross was intensively focus in keeping up with the soldiers position and their cover that he paid no attention to the failing girl in his grasp.

'_I was right! He needs to enroll in some proper gentleman classes. Mom forgiving for what I'm about to do._' she thought before she opens her mouth and bites Kross hand causing him to move his hand away from her mouth.

"What was that for?" he angrily inquires while maintaining his voice at a whispered tone as he shakes the hand that was bitten by her.

"You taste like freaking burnt meat!" she remarks as she was holding her tongue out and her face displays disgust at what she just did.

"Well how about I cut it off for you so I won't have to hear your annoying voice anymore?" he threatens with anger present in his tone.

She cast her eyes around the area to locate water but to her avail there was nothing, not even a raindrop of water, '_God...it tasted so bad_.' she thought in disgust.

Kross glance at his hand and spot teeth marks engraved in his hand, '_She really is a dog._' he thought to himself after rubbing the mark with his index and middle finger.

0000

Morose arrived back in time to hear Master Canaan's instructions for their field test for today. "Alright...listen up there are teams of two because there are an even amount of students here. So I want everyone to partner up and I will confirm if the pair is okay."

Morose attempts to make Kieran her partner however Kiera was faster then her. She stands right next to her brother with a smirk on her face once they exchange high fives and links their arms together.

"That leaves you with Norm." Kiera informs the now cleaned Morose who her partner was. Morose shivered from disgust since she had to be paired up with none other than _Norm_.

"He-haw let's do our best, Morose!" he proclaims as his bodily smell was unbearable, '_Oh god, I think I'm going to pass out_.' she thought after Master Canaan clears his throat signaling the children for their attention.

"Now, that you're in pairs, you will have to decide who will be a deer and who will be the hunter." Canaan mentions the twist to the game.

"So you're saying that whoever it is the deer will be hunted and whoever is the hunter they will be hunting the deer?" Kiera summarizes the roles of the game.

"Yes, Kiera, but _I_ will be picking who will be the hunter and the deer." he verifies Kiera's understanding of the game causing everyone except for Kiera to groan at the announcement.

"Kieran, Morose, Raul, Davis, and Shun, since you have the best archery scores in my class you five are the deer for this excersie." Canaan lists off names of his students, who were to serve as the deer.

Kiera jumps up and down from joy while Morose vehmently protested against the idea.

"Kiera, Norm, Molly, John and Lola since you have the less then average scores in my archery class this game is your test. You will have to hit as many deer as you possibly can. No bodily harm will occur because the tips of the arrows are felt soft points that each have a specific color for the respective hunter."

"Kiera your group's color is red. Norm your group's color is blue. Molly your group's color is purple, John your group's color is yellow. Lola your group's color is green." he verifies their groups' color

After completing a thourough inspection of the equipment such as tightening the string to the bow and check each one of the arrow tips, Canaan points to a huge timer with the time limit visible on it. He pushes the yellow button allowing the deer a five minute head start.

"Alright hunters," Canaan projects his voice when the timer inched closer and closer to the twenty-five minute mark. "Go!" he shouts as each one of the hunters scatter out in the enclosed area.

'_I just hope the twins don't ruin this test for every one and my sake_.' he thought as he decided to go along just incase.

0000

Eva can feel her baby kick once again at her stomach which cause her to rub her hand across her stomach to soothe the baby's irritable motions.

"Seems like it's angry." Aikka comments before Eva slightly jab him in his arm with her clenched fist.

"It's just doesn't like to sit still for a while. It's a rebel like its mother." she curtly reponse as Aikka could only laugh while they were walking down a now rocky path.

"Where are we going?" she questions him but it fell on deaf ears as he contuines to pull her along with him.

"I got one more thing to show you," he mention once he made sure to take the safest path down the mountainside since he did not want to place Eva and their unborn child at risk.

Eva noticed a set of steps engraved in the stone's side as it was a long and winding path that led them to a pool of water. The water appeared as if it was floating on thin air but it was supported by the hands of the mountain.

"This is where you and I got married, the Nourasia Priest Water Fountain." he explains to her when she cast her gaze over to see the pool of water forever holding the image of the crescent moon as it holds the tips of the sun within its twin ends. It was such a magnificent image.

"Breathtaking isn't it?" Aikka ask after he hears her sharply intake a breath as she release a gasp since it was a beautiful sighting.

"Come here...we exhanged our vows in this very same spot." he proclaims once he gently tugs her along so she could follow close behind him once they neared the pool.

"You can take your shoes off. The water feels good here." he instructs her before he slips his shoes off and steps in first. Eva notice that when Aikka place his feet on the surface that it did not distort the picture of the moon and sun. Instead it appeared as if he was walking on water.

"Trust me," he reassures his wife before she reach out for his hand and led her to the center of the pool when he asked her if she would like to dance.

"Sure but you know I can't do too much fancy moves since I have this one to deal with." Eva reminds her husband that she was pregnant while pointing at her belly with her finger.

"I know, I will take it nice and slow." he affirms to her before they fall into an instant rhythm with no music at all. Unbesknown to outsiders looking in, they could not hear anything but Aikka and Eva was able to here it loud and clear.

_'This is such a beautiful melody.'_ Eva thought as they fell into a natural movement as she enjoyed the sights, sounds, and the man she was holding in her arms.

0000

Natalie occupies a seat at a fairly busy Nourasia restaurant while the Avatar continue to mask his golden body underneath his original human form.

"So Miss Andros are you a native of Nourasia?" Jordan pose to her when she props her menu up blocking his piercing vision of her face.

"And why should I partake in your interrogation?" Natalie cpunters with another question as she was already annoyed by his questions.

"Do you always think as a solider whenever you have male interaction?" the Avatar asked knowing that it would get under her skin.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Natalie inquired after she dropped the menu as her face clearly showed anger when the waiter came at their table.

"How may I help you today?" he asked them when Natalie regained her composure before she heard the Avatar ordering for them.

"May I have your menus?" the waiter asked when Jordan pluck her menu from her hands and handed it back to the waiter before he went to place in their orders

"I won't even ask how you know what I wanted to order." Natalie said knowing that he was reading her mind.

"You can say something like that or I am just a good guesser." He bragged while Natalie sat there waiting for this to be over with it.

"Aw come on now, I am not that bad of a date, am I?" Jordan answered before she merely groaned at what he just asked her.

"You already know the real reason I accepted this whole thing is because I need to hear what you know about what has been happening with the King and Queen?" Natalie asked when a visible sigh was seen from her mouth.

"I can not tell you that now, because that means you can leave and I don't want to have lunch by myself now do I?" Jordan asked in a teasing manner.

'_This is getting me nowhere!_' she thought to herself when she decided to devised a plan on a way to get the information from The Avatar without having to see the end of this deal.

"It is worthless if you try," Jordan spoke before he saw the reaction on her face.

"Can I have a thought of privacy?" she asked him after he only nodded so he would be a cordial gentleman.

"But I can't help if you broadcast your thoughts out loud." he added in.

"So if you are able to hear my thoughts that mean you are only honed in on me?" she asked trying to dissect his power so she could get a better understanding of his powers.

"You can say that." he slips in before their waiter came back with their appetizers in his hand.

"Alright then, so let me guess if you don't hone in on a particular person then other people thoughts would overload your mentally capacity?" she questions after she takes a bite into her food.

"What exactly are you trying to get at Natalie?" Jordan contest before he discovered that she created a mental block so he could not read her thoughts.

"It looks like its going to be difficult to get the answer to that question." he defends his position with the same teasing smile evident on his face.

"Trust me...it will be hard now that I know the extent of your ability to read minds." She informs him after she takes a sip from her cup.

"Care to enlighten a dumb fella?" he wonders once their entrees arrive via their waiter.

"No," she defers his question before they begin to consume their entrees in a subtle quietness.

'_Let's see if this work_,' Natalie thought before she drops her mental wall causing Jordan apparent smirk to grow into a toothy grin on his face.

Jordan observe her thoughts, which were in the form of glowing bright white streaks that transformed into dark ominous purple lights. Instead of flowing in its constant river like fashion it was redirect at him.

As the stream of dark light pass through his body causing a icy cold shiver to run up and down his spine.

"That's enough for now." he suggest to her when a visible smirk appear on her face before she witness some of his personal thoughts flash before her eyes.

'_The Queen's face up close and personal, Aikka's down falling, leaning in to the Queen's lips while tightly holding her, the ache of seeing Queen in the King's arm finishing their vows for one another.' _ She could feel a strong wave of guilt and longing wash over her soul.

She merely observe him still eating his food when as a visible frown appear on her face before she mentally decide to keep quiet about what she just saw with her own two eyes.

"I guess you saw my past. Its alright. However it is quite hard to get over it but as the wise said with time it heals all so don't worry about me." He downplays his memories as they countine to eat lunch quietly.

After they finish consuming their meals, the Avatar tips the waiter before they stroll out on to the now busy streets of Nourasia.

"Since you were a good date the least I can do is tell you what I know. It is up to you to believe if it is true or not." He speculates the results of their date. "The reports you have been receiving lately deals with two people, who are planning to target both the Queen and King. One has an unhealthy obsession that it will drive them to do some rather crazy deeds. The other one is well hated by your people and is willing to cut both of the royals heads off by any means necessary. He is distinctive by his red scar over one of his eyes." The Avatar avoid revealing the identity of those who he was talking.

Natalie could tell that the Avatar had to speak in broad terms due to the fact that he jeopardizing the future which he as the Avatar was not allowed to do.

"Thank you," she mentions as she thanked him but he was no longer standing in front of her.

0000

Kieran notice that Morose was following him around as if she was a lost puppy or better yet a deer. _'If she keeps up with me then she will let know the hunters where we are. I have to get away from her.' _Kieran thought since he too, was trying to avoid any of the hunters.

"Kieran, wait up!" she exclaimed as he knew that she would be an easy target and if he does not get out of her he would be hit.

Kiera's ears perked up at the sound of a sudden familiar noise that she instantly recognize as none other then Morose's annoying voice.

'_If I didn't __know any better she is probably chasing after Kieran._' she thought before she slightly veers off of course in the direction toward the sound of Morose's voice.

Canaan notice Kiera's intense concentration as he could not help but to assume that she was up to no good. So he decided to shadow her to make sure that she remaind out of trouble.


	7. The Hunt Is On!

'_Someone with an unhealthy obsession that would drive them to do some crazy deeds and the other one is well hated by our people and is willing to cut both of the royals heads off? What could the Avatar mean by that?' _Natalie train of thought would always come to a halt at that very moment.

She was soon confronted by her subordinates that serve in her battalion, under her personal command, before she stroll back into the cubed-shape room that was her office.

Natalie takes a seat in her leather black office chair, leans back, and props her feet up as she would often to do whenever she was in a thinking limbo.

'_I need to start off with the second part of the riddle.' _Natalie recall what the Avatar told her after spending an exhausted time with him on that 'date'.

'_There are some common enemies of ours that I personally had to deal with but none like the ones known as the Trogs. There is a deep sense of hatred enplanted when I think of those baboons. That's the perfect answer! So then why would a Trog be teamed up with someone with an obsession that would drive them to do some crazy deeds?" _Natalie brushes the thought off when a knock brings her attention to the door and notice that her dad was standing there.

"You look as if you got a lot on your plate? You want to talk about?" Rick question after seeing the current expression on his daughter's face.

"That's because I do. I was forced to sit down and have lunch with the Avatar of all people…" Her father cuts her off after hearing the Avatar's name.

"Jordan had lunch with you? Oh I do believe someone has a little admirer hanging around Nourasia." He teases her as if he was a little child who found out his friend had a crush on some cute girl.

"Rick, act your age now." Natalie reprimand him sounding more like the adult instead of the child at that moment.

"Oh come on now, it was a little joke you know, lighten up a little," Rick claim with a smile evident on his face.

"Well then like I was saying early before you decided to revisit your childhood, the Avatar gave me some rather vague details or clues on what the reports that I have been receiving daily from my soldiers." Natalie start off telling her father the story.

"So what was it that he said that has you thinking in loops and loops?" Rick questioned about what the Avatar told her over lunch.

"Someone with an unhealthy obsession that would drive them to do some crazy deeds and the other one is well hated by our people and is willing to cut both of the royals heads off?" Natalie repeated verbatim what was told to her.

"No wonder you're brain tied. That is something that I can't even think of where to start at." Rick admit after he place his head down on her desk.

"So you have no solution for me either? Ugh, you're no help at all! You know that!" Natalie claim when she remove her feet from on top of her desk and raise to her feet.

"Well just like you said earlier I do need to take a break, I'll be on the balcony if any of my solider requests me." Natalie attempts to sound polite as possible but her tone made it sound like an order.

"Will do captain." Rick joke as he removes himself from the chair that he was currently sitting in and instead occupies Natalie's chair.

0000

Eva felt as if she could continue to listen to the everlasting melody of the pristine water fountain forever however a sudden kick to her stomach jolts her from the peaceful reverie.

"Is there something wrong?" Aikka's worried tone ask once he bring their dance to a halt after feeling Eva suddenly pull away from him.

"This fellow in here thinks otherwise if we can keep going," Eva joke about her stomach while she rubs it to soothe the pain from the kick that she just received.

Aikka could only chuckle at what his wife said from earlier when her face showed him that she was dead serious about what she just said.

"It's no problem at all. I have an idea...we can go by and see how the twins are doing. After all, there is someone that wants to see you once when we get there." Aikka claim when they made their way across the Nourasia Priest Water Fountain until her feet touched the steps of the mountainside steps.

"I wonder who that could be?" Eva pose to herself in order to think of who it could be that would want to see her while she step back on her slippers.

"Oh it shouldn't be that difficult even for you." Aikka hints at the identity of who it is.

"Well I don't feel like playing along so how long is it going to take for us to make it to where the twins are?" Eva ask about the location of her children.

"Not too far actually, just about ten minutes from here. After all, I was planning to go visit them anyway and I have the ultimate pleasure of taking you with me." Aikka claim since that was the original reason why we came out today.

"And you just couldn't help but take a detour with me?" Eva mention to her husband as she leans in to her husband's body for comfort.

"You got that right!" He declares once he made sure that she was walking closer to the wall of the mountain rather then the edge of the cliff.

"I have high hopes for Natalie and the upcoming race for Oban, don't you?" Eva changed the topic of their conversation.

"She will perform just like she does on the battlefield but there is always someone better though." Aikka reassured his wife's of their choice.

"Oh and would this person be just an arm width away or could it be your wife or could it be the Queen of Nourasia? Let me know if I'm getting any warmer?" Eva throws out hints since she knew now who he was talking about...her.

"Well I do believe that you have burned the toast to a crisp then." he confirms which cause her to laugh at his response.

0000

Natalie discovered that the balcony was clear of any soldiers; no military officers would ever dare come out here since it was a liability that they may be attacked by Noursaia's enemies at any time.

However, on certain occasions, some would dare trod out there but not by themselves. They were usually occupied by another officer or a solider that was off duty. She was never one to follow strictly by the rules unless it was a battle situation or wherever it was necessary needed.

Natalie simply enjoyed the breathtaking view of Noursaia's landscape that the balcony provided to them.

"You know that I can have you arrested for trying to learning Noursaia's military secrets, harassing a high ranking officer, stalking and high treason against a Royal guard. Yet since you know the King and Queen personally then it is of no use but due answer this question…why do you keep following me around?" Natalie inquires when she could feel a breeze graze her face.

"You make it no fun, you know? Are you always a kill joy?" A cloaked figure posed the question to her back.

"I know that's how I earn my respect around here. Besides if I was such a kill joy it seem to me that you throughly enjoyed yourself at our lunch the other day." Natalie fires back at the cloaked figure with her back still facing him.

"Wow, I didn't know you had it in you, Natalie. Aren't you just full of surprises. I wonder what else you're hiding?" He inquires as he was now sitting on the engraved bench.

"Too bad you won't know that, _Avatar_." A voice that did not belong to the pair mention as it turn their attention toward the entrance/exit. The voice belong to none other then Rick.

"It's good to see you too, Jordan. I see that you've been doing your job or we would not be in this nice peaceful setting that we have here, right Natalie?" Rick ask her as his tone was not angry or pleasant. He simply addresses him like any regular soldier under his command.

"It's good to see you too, Rick. I see that you're still working as hard as you always do. The years have been kind to you." The Avatar claim before he reappears in front of Natalie this time.

"Oh well then, I will leave you two to whatever business you have to discuss but do make it brief or I will have to report you to our officials Jordan." Rick claim after he pushes himself away from the wall and disappears behind the wall.

"That went well." The Avatar mumbles to himself before turning around to face Natalie again.

"Okay what's your business for being here at least tell me that much?" Natalie orders since she was not going to budge one bit.

"Alright, listen here I know that I kind of gave you some vague clues about what is happening but that's all I can give you since I am kind of sworn by certain intergalactic oath that I'm not to tamper with or in any of the planet's social or political scandals. It seems as if a certain Princess has their eyes set on the throne and don't care who is sitting by your King's side as long as it is them." The Avatar issues another riddle to Natalie.

"That's just like the last one you told me, that is no…wait a minute hold on," Natalie cut herself off when she realize exactly what he told her.

"Princesses are very rare around here in Noursaia. Since most of them have either been married or have already stake their claim to their birthright to the throne. However, there are some occasions where some Princesses lose out on who they want and they end up marrying someone that's a commoner, peasant, or maybe someone who does not belong here. This often times lead to a void in their heart which could only be filled with false fantasies that can only be acquired by…_stalking_." Jordan merely observe Natalie as she worked through the riddles while pacing left and right.

"So am I on the right track?" she pause mid-stride during her pacing, face him, and ask him a question.

"I can't tell you that but your hint should arrive in three…two…one." He says before he disappears when a solider comes running toward her.

"Ma'am an official visit is in order from Princess Mai on Royal Family business." The solider announce to her as that that was the signal the Avatar was telling her about.

'_So I finally figured out who the identity of our stalker is.' _Natalie thought to herself before she mutters a thank you into the wind as if to send a secret message of to the Avatar.

0000

Kieran discovered a hideaway that would keep him safe from the vying eyes of the other hunters. However, his plan was tampered when he heard a familiar yet absolutely annoying voice call his name out.

He turn his sights to see Morose running at top speed toward him with hearts floating from her eyes and arms extended forward as if to enclose him in her arms.

'_I thought Kiera had taken care of this problem for me.' _He thought to himself when he can hear leaves crunch underneath footsteps near them. From his lessons with Master Canaan, he recall recognizing the signs for when the enemy is near and approaching.

He watch as her mouth open as if she was about to scream out his name when an arrow whiz pass his ear nearing grazing his head but instead connected to Morose's stomach.

"Ouch that craps hurt!" She shouts after she removed the arrow from her stomach, which cause her to glance down to see what the paint color that was left from the felt arrow tip.

Kieran use Morose stunned expression as a oppurtunity to escape from her sight when he can hear her scream at the top of her lungs, "Kiera, you're so dead!" The sound of more arrows releasing can be heard followed by more screams from Morose.

'_Her anger is making herself a viable target. Good thing, I left before the shot those arrows.' _Kieran thought after he leaps over a log when he spot his sister hiding behind a tree trunk.

"I see that you were able to get the first shot off without any hassle." Kieran tell his sister as his mind replays back to the arrow that flew by his head.

"Oh that? That was nothing. You know I was glad that I didn't show my skills earlier or I would not be able to enjoy myself in this game." Kiera admit before releasing a small chuckle.

"Yeah but that wasn't a bad shot though sis." Kieran compliment his sister who was steadily preparing her arrow and fires another shot at a movement at a shadow that resemble a deer with antlers.

"Hey watch where you're aiming!" A masculine voice shouts to whoever shot the arrow.

"Well then you better get going…after all you are the deer and my partner." Kiera exchange a joke to her twin brother before he continue on with his running as she release another arrow in that direction.

0000

"It seems as if it is empty here." Eva stated the obvious when a servant lady emerges from the house that was structured more like a dojo then a living residence.

"Master Canaan has taken the students out for a game of hunters and deers. Would you like to sit down and wait for them or would you like to watch?" the servant lady politely ask them.

"A game of hunters and deers?" Eva repeats since she personally did not like the sound of the game that her children were involved in.

"It doesn't sound that bad Eva. Actually it is more of a teaching game for the students who aren't very good at Archery as they are the hunters and the students who excel in the class are the deer. Whoever color appears the most on the deer wins." Aikka explain the rules of the game to his wife.

"Oh I get it. Is that invitation to watching the game still on?" Eva ask since she instant became curious as to which one of her child would be the deer or the hunter or maybe they were both deers or both were hunters.

"Yes, milady, right this way, please." The servant lady response before she guide the King and Queen into the viewing room.

"May I ask, who are the hunters and the deer?" Eva pose to the group once they entered the room when all of the attention was on her and her husband.

"It's the King and Queen." A voice announce causing the group to simultaneously bowed out of respect.

"Hold on I got this," Aikka whispers to his wife, "We appericate your show of gratitude and love for your Noursaia kingdom but please me and my wife are here to view our children in their game that Master Canaan has offered. If you do not mind could you inform us of who is who and what is happening now?"

"The deer as you know has some of the best archery scores in the class. They are Morose, Raul, Davis, Shun and Kieran. The hunters that have the lowest scores are Norm, Molly, John, Lola and Kiera. They are marked by certain colors ranging from blue to red. Blue: Norm, Purple: Molly, Yellow: John, Green: Lola and Red: Kiera. So far Morose has been struck by red twice, yellow three times, and purple once." One of the servants inform them of the results when she was looking at what appeared to be a floating mirror.

"You forgot that they have partners as well!" Another servant chimes into the conversation.

"The partners are Norm and Morose, Molly and Raul, John and Davis, Shun and Lola and the ever so diabolic...I mean the nicest pair of twins, Kiera and Kieran." The servant catches herself before she spoke bad about the twins.

It was quiet for a little while until the Queen's voice can be heard cutting through the pending silence, "Well then pull me up a chair and we will stay and watch with you all. If you don't mind our presence that is?" Eva ask since she felt obligated too.

"We would be delighted." This time it was the servant lady that showed them inside of the room who spoke to them.


	8. Revenge and The Arrival

Aikka and Eva notice that the servants were evenly spaced with enough room to get comfortable in their seating arrangement. They were staring intently at the floating mirror that hover above the ground. Some of the images that were shown were that of the deer and the hunters.

An image of their daughter Kiera, hiding behind a small brush with one knee on the forest floor while the other leg was at a ninety-degree angle. Kiera takes a long slow deep breath before pinching the end of her arrow with her bent index finger and thumb along with pulling the string of the bow back.

"It seems as if Kiera spotted someone." Aikka whispers to his wife after they position themselves at an angle so that they could have a clear view of the mirror.

What happened next seem to have surprised the servants when Kiera closed both of her eyes in concentration before releasing her trigger arm as the vibrations from the release seem to have shaken her bag of felt-tip arrows.

"It was Raul. That's about three on him from Kiera." One of the servants announce as Eva could not help but feel proud of her daughter and her recent accomplishment.

The mirror image shift to Kieran who manage to avoid coming into contact with what was suppose to be a trap set by a combine effort of John, Lola, and Molly. He manage to avoid the green colored felt-tip arrow by hopping back from his previous location.

Another one was aimed for his back as Kieran fall toward the forest ground as the arrow sails over his head before rolling into thick brushes to avoid another arrow that was aimed for his forehead.

"As expected from the royal family Prince Kieran." Another woman servant compliment the twin on a job well done.

The loud buzzing noise that was emitted from the timer signaled that time was up and that the hunters along with their respective deer needed to report immediately back to the school grounds for the results of the test.

"I wonder who won?" Eva rhetorically ask causing her husband to smile before they briefly awaited for the students of Canaan to arrive back.

Canaan arrives back at the main grounds, makes his way over to the large timer, and pushes the yellow button that cease the loud blaring noise. It was then that he heard bushes and leaves shifting around him when he notice that his students were now standing in a straight line next to each other.

"As you know the little game that we just played was a test to see if my lessons have made an effect on your ability to process problem solving and basic instincts that will keep you alive in real world situation. I must say that I saw some improvements in all of you today..." he claim while he paces the line before pausing to glance at Kiera, "...and some that seemed to have kept their progress a secret from their instructor."

Kiera could not help but allow a smile to appear on her face when she heard Master Canaan directly mention her before her attention turn to a servant with a board in her hand and a pencil in the other.

"Norm and Melrose, step forward for your evaluation." Canaan order a specific group first which cause the twins to turn their sights toward the unlikely couple of Melrose, who seemed to have endured torture while on the other hand Norm simply scratches the back of his head with one of his hands.

"One green, two purple and blue, three yellow and six red." Canaan reports as he made sure to check all possible targets on a human body. The evaluation was like that with each and every group that he called forward as they all seemed to have taken an hit.

"Last but not least, the twins Kiera and Kieran please step forward." Canaan order the twins as they were in synch when they take a step forward.

"You two showed impressive teamwork during the game and that will take you pretty far in the field of battle. Kieran you worked excellent as a decoy and also you were not willing to allow yourself to be hit by any of the arrows. That's an impressive fighting spirit that you have there." He begins his evaluation by doing Kieran first.

"Kiera, you showed some skills that rivaled your brother's. I'm just baffled at the fact as to why you did not show your progress during weekly and monthly tests? But it seems as if I already have found out the answer to my question." He says before they both turn to face a fussy Morose who looked absolutely peeved at Norm's attempt of apologizing to her.

"Well I think that the winners of the game is obvious so this will be the end of the lessons for today." Canaan dismisses his class after they formed a line so that they could place their weapons and their unused arrows back in the weapons room.

Aikka and Eva choose that as the time to surprise their children with their presence as he aid his wife in rising to her feet as the servants seem throughly surprise that the King and Queen was still sitting among them.

Kiera receive a lot of "congratulations" and "well dones" by her fellow peers once they place their items back in their proper place. She could not help but to wear a smile when Melrose approach her.

"Liars don't deserve the spotlight…after all they are the fakest people for not being honest with others." Melrose declares after she folds her arms across her chest.

"Just because you didn't receive any good reviews from the test does not make it my fault. You should have worked with your partner like Kieran and I did then just maybe you guys would have had a fighting chance." Kiera respond back with words of her own when Canaan immediately spotted the two rivals going at it again for the second time today.

Before he was about to interfere, Morose said something that he knew Kiera hated hearing people say to her, "Well if your father wasn't the King and one of the best archers on Noursaia then you wouldn't be anything without him except for a regular peasant."

Kieran notice that the twin eyes had disappeared behind her brownish red hair as her fists clench and unclench as if she was trying to calm herself down. "Morose, I'm only going to warn you once, say any thing else about my father then I'm not sure that you would like what you see."

"Oh puh-lease…Kiera is nothing without you as her brother. All I know is that she's floating in the same boat with Norm." Morose stated as was she clearly not aware of the hostility that was growing around Kiera when she reach out to touch her shoulders, "No, that would just be a compliment. Norm is way better…"

Kieran release a deep sigh when he notice that his twin had tackled Morose to the field grounds and begin to unleash the anger that Morose pumped into her on her face.

"Kiera, get off of her!" Kieran hears another voice order her before seeing their master Canaan breaking up the fight by locking Kiera in a hold that she could not break free from.

"What is going on here?" Kieran knew that voice all to well, after all, he would know his very own mother's voice.

'_Oh_ _crap! I didn't know that mom and dad was here…if I would have know then I would have prevented the fight.' _Kieran thought in his head when another thought pass through his head, _'Melrose deserved it! Maybe next time she would learn to stop annoying people to death.' _

Morose's vision fell on to the King and the Queen who were currently standing over them both. When Morose glance upwards she saw that the Queen's face seem unreadable to the little girl and so was the King's.

"Kieran, don't make me have to ask you again or there will be some servere consequences for you too." Eva tone sharpen after she spotted her son standing nearby.

"This is exactly what happened mom." Kieran was interrupted by Morose desperate attempt to make it seem as if she was the victim in the whole thing.

"I came to compliment Kiera on a job well done today since she won the hunter and the deer game in our class. Next thing, I know she just rabidly attacked me for no reason at all! I think she did it just because she thought since she played those horrible pranks on me earlier. I was going to tell her I forgive her for what happened earlier."

Kiera's anger was showing no bounds as she could not believe that Melrose was trying to paint her as the culprit in the whole thing, but the hold that Master Canaan was holding her in was slowly draining her anger and energy. It seem as if every time that she thought she had an upper hand it would quickly disappear.

"Is what this little girl saying is true?" This time it was Aikka who questions his sole son who wore a cold menacing look on his face that scared Melrose.

"Answer your father, Kieran." Eva orders one of her children before seeing that he had looked back at them.

"No, it is not. Morose approach Kiera with an ulterior motive then congratulating Kiera. She said that Kiera was a liar because Kiera received high compliments in her evaluation from the game and Morose felt that Kiera did it on purpose just so she could attack her. Kiera responded back by saying that if Morose worked harder on working as a team with Norm then they probably would have given us a run for first place. Morose went on to say that if you were not Kiera's father and the best archer in Noursaia then Kiera wouldn't be that good and even said that if it was not for me then she would have been in dead last in our class and touched her shoulder. Before that even could happened, I had warned her about Kiera's temper but she continued on with what I just said and Kiera snapped." Kieran told the story from his point of view.

"Master Canaan, did you witness any of the conversation exchanged between the two girls? Their stories didn't seem to match up at least the part where Kiera attacked her on her own freewill." Aikka inquired about the situation that they were in to his former master.

The quietness that soon settles over the fieldgrounds as Morose secretly hoped that their Master did not see the beginning of their conversation, as she knew that she was in the wrong.

"Actually, King Aikka I did see what happen." Morose froze when she heard what her master just said to the King.

"Did you see the beginning of the conversation or did you see the whole thing?" Eva questions as she silently hoped that Canaan would put an end to all of these guessing games to see who really was telling the truth.

"Matter of fact, I witnessed who started the entire fight and she will definitely not go unpunished. After all, I think she clearly knows that she is in the wrong, she went against what they said about liars." Canaan answers before Morose mentally shattered as she should have double checked her surroundings.

Canaan can feel Kiera's body ease once the truth was unfurled and released her from his Master Lock Grip. She then made her way over to where her twin was currently standing before enclosing him in a hug as if to say "thanks for having my side".

Aikka turn to his wife, as he knew that they had to discuss about their daughter's behavior as well as her relationship toward the little girl she just had attacked.

"Kiera, you were cleared lucky because Master Canaan validated Kieran's story but fighting is just out of line unless someone makes the first move but…I am proud of you that you handle yourself very well in a fight." Eva slips in causing her daughter to quietly laugh at what she was just told.

0000

Natalie and two of her most trusted soldiers stood waiting at the Royal Palace for Princess Mai to arrive at the gates. Since it is their duty to make sure that any special guest who enters through the castle's gate should feel safe within the walls.

'_Where is this woman? She is late by military and royal standards.' _ Natalie thought to herself as she had to change from her battle outfit to her standard military uniform.

A carriage soon made its way to their gates with a young woman that was probably around Queen Eva's age emerge from her mode of transportation. Her tanned skin showed that she was natively born in Noursaia when her cheerful eyes meet Natalie's unyielding eyes.

_'She doesn't appear to fit the mold of a crazed stalker but hey what do I knoq? In this line of field, you just can't rule people out unless you have sufficient hard evidence.'_ Natalie thought in the back of her mind as she issue the command "Present Arms" to the soldiers.

"Welcome to the Royal Palace Princess Mai. My name is Captain Natalie Andros, I will be your security during your stay here with King Aikka and Queen Eva. They're currently out at the moment but are due to arrive back at the castle within a couple of hours. If you would like my men will escort you to your quarters in the guest wing." Natalie repeats the mandatory and traditional greeting that was required of her as she silently scope the woman out.

"It would be my pleasure. I am in no rush to meet the King but do let me know when he does return since the business I have to tell him is of dire emergency about my kingdom." Princess Mai request as Natalie's men remove about four bags from her carriage.

"How long do you intend to talk about your business with the King and the Queen? It is of crucial importance since we need to know when to keep soldiers available for civilian guarding." Natalie inquires, as the answer would secure her warning from the Avatar to be true.

"As long as if would take until I see the results that I promise to my kingdom." Princess Mai provide her a standard princess answer. Once Natalie noticed that her men had secured the princess' luggage, which she would personally check for any items that were not permitted in the castle.

"Well your determination is very awe-inspiring! I mean I usually don't meet too many princesses who actually like to actively working for their country even when they are not in power yet." Natalie constructed her opinion in order to make sure she would not arouse suspicion that she knew who she really is.

"Thank you, Captain Andros. I can see that we would become close friends during my stay at the Royal Palace, would you think that is possible?" Mai pose the woman who she was walking behind as Natalie did not respond instead she returned a smile.

"I would like that." Natalie said to Mai but said in her head,_ 'As long as you don't try to hurt my family then we can be friends.'_


	9. Discipline and Hatred

"So who exactly was that girl you were fighting Kiera?" Eva question once she takes a seat among her kids on a bench. Aikka left in order purchase some ice cream for them.

Kiera glance at her twin before she answer her mother's question after Kieran nodded his head as if to give her the go ahead to tell their mom the story.

"Her name is Melrose. She has been my so called enemy ever since Kieran and I entered Master Canaan's class. She really didn't take too well to me however she was instantly in love with Kieran when her eyes laid on him." Kiera truthfully answer her mother's question.

"So I'll assume that you have been returning the same attention toward her? And you better not lie to me Kiera." Eva's voice was stern as she was trying to get to the bottom of why her daughter attacked another girl.

"Yeah, I mean I responded with a couple of pranks but nothing that would put her life on the line." Kiera sincerely replies to her mother's question.

Eva release a held breath as she was try to ponder the best way to show Kiera what she did was wrong and that the only time she should retaliate is when someone put their hands on her first.

"Listen Kiera, don't even gawk at what I'm about to make you imagine, but put yourself in Melrose place when you pulled that prank on her. You wouldn't have liked it either, now would you? So don't pull anymore pranks on people or you won't be going to Oban with us." Eva threatened her daughter with the privilege of going to Oban.

Kiera was about to protest when she spot Kieran nod his head in a no fashion as if to warn her that she would only be digging her grave even deeper.

"Yes ma'am," Kiera says in a sullen tone. She could not believe that she was being punished for something Melrose started with her since she believed that she was ultimately the victim in the situation.

"Good, but like I said earlier I'm proud of you that you could hold your own though in a fight." Eva comments while ruffling her daughter's hair with her hand, which cause a smile to appear on Kiera's face.

"Get them before they fall!" Aikka urgently claims. He held four ice cream with two in each hand when Kieran hopped off the bench and aided his father by taking two cones from his hand.

Eva then felt a hard kick from the baby as she slightly wriggle in pain but it did not go unnoticed by her husband who ask, "Did the baby kick again?"

She slowly nod her head as rubs her stomach with her hand in a clockwise and then counterclockwise as that seem to have soothe the baby whenever it would give her a hard kick. "Yeah it got tired of waiting for the ice cream." She jokes with a small smile on her face.

Aikka could not help but to wear a smile on his face while his twins play along with their mother. He could never envision another woman replacing Eva as his wife and as a nurturer for his unborn and born children.

"Let's get going. We should be getting back to the castle." Aikka inform his family as he help his wife up to her feet while the twins stood on their feet.

0000

After having her subordinates escort Princess Mai to her guest room on the East Wing of the castle, they brought her personal belongings so Natalie could properly search the guest's items.

"You know what? You're a good actress, have you every thought about that instead of being a Captain in the military?" a voice suggest before Natalie was about to thoroughly check Princess Mai's belongings.

"Who said I was acting _Avatar_ or even you can't see when I'm telling the truth or not? Besides, I enjoy my role as a defender to the King and Queen." Natalie retorts as she made sure to keep the items neatly in its correct order since she wanted to maintain a sense of hospitality.

The Avatar was briefly silenced before he glance at Natalie once again when a thought pass through his head. He leans over and touchs her arm when images…painful ones rapidly fly through his mind.

Natalie had the feeling that the Avatar was rummaging through her mind once he made contact with her shoulder. She instantly felt betrayed and violated that her privacy was evaded by him.

"I'm so sorry Natalie. I really didn't mean to probe your thoughts." Jordan quickly apologize to the young lady but received no confirmation on whether or not she accepted it. She merely ignored him and continued to search through Mai's article of clothing.

"It seems quiet in here…how's the search holding up with our guest?" Rick's voice questions when he notice that it was so quiet in the search room that he could heard a pin fall to the floor.

"It would have gone a whole lot faster if the Avatar didn't shown up and acted like a butt hole by reading my thoughts. You know what, dad, can you take over this search? I only have one more bag to go but I might end up killing someone with diplomatic immunity." Natalie snaps when she slam the luggage close and pushe it a little ways off of the table before she left the room.

"I didn't know that you were a _dad_?" Jordan ask as shock was written over his face when he discovered the relationship status between Natalie and Rick.

"So you still don't understand the extent of private thoughts do you, Jordan?" Rick's voice had edge on it, as Jordan knew Rick was very serious at the moment.

"Just think about it for a moment, what if we could see your private thoughts? Imagine how you would feel if Aikka knew how you were willing to trample over him and his family who calls you a friend and even considers you as a part of his family just to have his wife. That's called a home wrecker to me." Rick outlines Jordan's issues. Natalie overheard what her dad just said to the Avatar as it seem to coincide with images she saw when his little mind trick backfired at lunch that day.

"I have the right to have those thoughts! Since when could you pass judgment on someone, Rick? If it wasn't for me then Aikka would have never had Eva. She would be in my position watching as someone else love him while she was bound by law not to be involve with plantery dignitaries." Jordan adamently defends his position.

Natalie soon finds herself in a bind but decide to head to the garden so she could process the conversation between Rick and the Avatar.

"That's the point, knucklehead! Natalie has the right to keep those thought from other people because she doesn't want to add people in her burden." Rick reprimands Jordan as if he was his own child.

"One last thing...can you explain why I saw a house burning?" Jordan inquires about one of the images he observed when he touched Natalie's arm.

"You're truly hard headed Jordan! Did you hear anything that I just said to you? If you want to know then you need to ask her for yourself." Rick repeats what he said as he shakes his head in utter disbelief.

He notice that Jordan had disappeared as a small smile made its way to his face when a thought past through his head, _'He just might have matured...a little.'_

0000

Eva felt her children's hand inside of hers as they were making their way back home. She silently hoped that Kiera would learn from their little talk in the park.

"Isn't that Natalie?" Eva whispers to her husband once they cross the front gate of their home. It was then that the couple noticed that they were a lot more security in the front courtyard of the castle. They watch Natalie stroll pass the water fountain before pushing the gate to the garden open and close.

"Do you want me to go check up on her?" Aikka pose to his wife before he scoops up Kiera in his arms since she nearly fell face forward when they were walking up the pathway.

"No. I can handle it. Can you tuck the kids in bed for me?" Eva ask Aikka when he nod his head in agreement as he removes Kieran's hand from hers.

"Thanks I owe you one!" Eva thanks him before she place a kiss on his cheek and her children and wish them a "sweet dreams" along with "good night". She then separated herself from her husband and children, as she could not help but to think at how grateful she was to have Aikka as a father and a mentor to their kids.

She release a deep breath before turning her sights on the garden entrance and exit where Natalie seem to be angry at something or possibly someone causing her to remind her of her younger herself.

A streak of golden light soon catches her attention once her hand touch the wrought-iron bars of the gate. She immediately identified the only person who was able to emit light from their body...Jordan.

"Haven't you already done enough for tonight?" Eva could hear irritation in Natalie's tone when she posed the question to Jordan.

"I'm sorry. I don't know the extent of my own power yet and I am still rather new at being the Avatar." Jordan answer her question with sincerity or at least that is what Eva could tell.

"So this is how you apologize to people after you just probed their minds?" Natalie response with a shake of her head.

"You know what? You aren't a really good Avatar, you know that right? For you to have the gaud to not even admit the truth is just blashphemy. I'm not even going to listen to your watered down excuses anymore." Natalie opposes his apology. Eva understood all to well where Natalie was coming from as she could agree with her view of Jordan.

"Look you're taking this beyond the point that it needs to be." Jordan mumbles. Eva shakes her head at Jordan's stupidty since he was adding more gasoline to the fire.

"At least I geninuely felt sorry for you after watching what you were not able to have due to you becoming the Avatar. After your mind technique backfired your memories never left my head of your undying and unyielding love for Eva! It sickened me to my core that you were willing to trample over Aikka and their kids just so you can have her to yourself. I can't believe that she still thinks of you, a selfish bastard, as a close friend to the family."

"Now, who is the one being biased? Captain that's not like you at all. Surely you can't begin to comprehend how you have to unwillingly sacrifice someone that you have wanted for the longest. You don't understand the feeling of having your own personal dreams slip from within the tips of your fingers because you wanted to give that someone the life that they so deserved…"

Eva could no longer sit back and listen to their conversation and decide that it was time for a much needed intervention.

"Hold on you two! Now just wait a minute…you two aren't handling this like the adults that I know that you are." Eva voice catch Natalie off guard but Jordan was the one who knew that Eva was listening in on their entire conversation.

"I apologize Queen Eva but I must return back to the guest that just arrived today." Natalie attempts to excuse herself but Eva remained firm with her hands on her hips.

"I'm sure Rick can handle your men for a couple of more minutes. Besides this conversation is toxic for the both of you. You need to tell each other how you truly feel about whatever problem you two have with each other or if so God help me I will make both of your lives miserable." Eva threatens while she points at both of them with a look use to reprimand her children if they acted out of line.

"Jordan, you evaded my privacy and no you can't ask me about anything about what you saw. You are a jerk and you don't take other people feelings into consideration when you do things. I don't want you around me anymore because I find you annoying and a pest. Come around me and I will not hesitate to kick your _ass_, do you understand me?" Natalie admits with a "try me" expression.

'_Wow, that almost sounded like a real threat. I wonder would she follow through with it?' _ Eva thought as her and Jordan shared similar thoughts.

"Natalie, you simply can't understand what I have been through physically and emotionally. You are a very cold-hearted _bitch_ that doesn't see anything other than the big picture since you hardly focus on yourself and expressing your feelings. You're going to encounter some severe roadblocks if you aren't aware of how others use you for their own personal gain. You will never be happy with your life." Jordan response to Natalie's statement.

Eva was in some serious shock at how they just exchanged some very cold and harsh words with one another but she of all people knew that it had to come out eventually or Natalie might end up killing Jordan for real.

"Are you happy now?" the two inquires in unison while they turn their attention toward Eva with equally peeved look on both of their faces.

"Although you two exchanged some very negative words with each other, I see that this is the only way for you two to talk about your real feelings about the situation. My only request is don't bring that hostility in my house or you will find yourself back to square one." She threats the both of them as they were about to protest but Eva was too fast for them and cut them off.

"No ifs and buts about it, now if you two don't mind I have to tuck my children in for bed and take myself to bed with my husband." Eva quickly cut them off.

"Queen Eva there is-" "Didn't you just hear what I said a couple of minutes ago Captain?" Eva questions as her tone was serious before she left the pair alone with each other.

Jordan laughes when he realized that Eva had cut Natalie completely off when she was trying to tell her something. It was then that he felt a sudden pain in his lower face or the jaw region.


	10. The Expected Visitor

"Bastard!" was the last thing that Jordan heard when the pain reverberated through his jaw as he fell off the bench and onto the floor with a thud.

Jordan bring one of his hands to his jaw as he wince from the soreness of his jaw. A golden light soon emit from his hand when he start to heal his broken jaw.

'_Well that went rather well…' _he thought since he could not help but proclaim Natalie the victor since she had a nasty right hook. _'I guess I'm back at square one…'_

Natalie was still fuming since her intentions was to clear her mind and relax in the garden but then a couple of minutes into the process of destressing _he_ had appeared right next to her with a cocky grin on his face, as if he had won a game or a bet.

'_He's a sorry excuse for an Avatar invading people thoughts like that…' _she thought while she makes her way inside of the castle to check up on her dad and how the search was doing.

0000

Meanwhile Eva was slowly trotting through the familiar halls of her home when she decide to make a detour and check on the twins to see if their father had already tucked them in fo the night.

She walks in on Aikka who had closed a book, leaned over quietly, clicked the light off, paused when he notice Kiera's body shift due to the sudden change of the room's brightness to darkness.

He place the book to the right of the lamp, raise to his feet, and place a kiss on their kids' forehead while he wish them a goodnight.

"I would like to have one of those when I'm going to sleep." She whispers to her husband. He had turned to see that she was observing their nighttime ritual with the twins with her very round and protruding belly sent signals that they were going to have more kids.

After Aikka made sure that Kiera and Kieran were fast asleep, he exited their room and closed the door behind him so no noise would rudely awake them in the middle of their slumber.

"Sure, you can have as many as you like," he teases her while enclosing his wife in an tight embrace. Eva gladly returned the hug from at an angle to avoid hurting her protruding stomach.

"I need to go see the doctor tomorrow. The due date is coming up pretty fast." Eva reminds him when they start their short distance walk from their children room toward their private master bedroom.

"So how many are you going to give me this time?" Aikka jokes with his wife when one of his hands touch her stomach as if to feel how many there was in her stomach.

"We already have two. I personally just want one more and that's it!" Eva proclaim after she look up to see that even though Aikka was joking he was dead serious about his question.

"I mean you already have Kieran as an heir or do you just want a bigger family?" Eva inquires about how many kids that they were planning on having.

Aikka pause to look at her as if his expression told her, her answer already, "Kiera and Kieran are about to turn ten years old and you should know that I come from a rather _large_ family."

Eva could not help but ruffle his hair between her hands, "I mean it's fine by me. I just wanted to see where we both stand on this subject because I throughly enjoy baby making its just giving birth that hurts."

"I would have to agree with Queen Eva, after all, we, women suffer the brute of the world's physical and emotional trauma that the world has to offer." A feminine voice that did not belong to Eva chime which cause the couple to turn and face a young woman.

"How rude of me for not introducing myself to you…my name is Princess Mai and I will be visiting Noursaia for a couple of days." The woman name Princess Mai introduces herself with a bow of her head out of politeness.

Aikka and Eva exchange looks at one other as if to see if either one of them knew her and if she heard their entire conversation beforehand, which left them rather embarrassed.

"Captain Natalie did say something about having a guest." Eva whispers to her husband once Mai glance away from the couple.

"I'm so sorry that you did not receive the proper greeting from us…I would be ashamed if you were not properly taken care of." Queen Eva apologize as she manage to bounce back from the sudden interruption of the young woman's presence.

"It's quite okay Queen Eva. Captain Natalie gave me the greeting that would be most memorable of my trip here. I usually thought that the military would be detached with humanity especially high ranking officials such as you two are the King and Queen." Princess Mai quickly respond back to Eva's apology with her hands held up in an innocent manner.

"But its my country's idea to make sure that we all establish a good relationship…since it would be horrific if a coup d'état was performed because of my ineffective leading abilities." Aikka supply his answer to Princess Mai's question as her eyes land him and seemed to dazzle because of his presence.

"Why a good answer from the youngest King to ever succeeded the Noursaia throne. That is something that might come in handy in a sticky situation. It seems as if I better return back to the guest quarters since I was lost when I was heading back to my room." Mai explains why she was currently standing in front of them.

"Why thank you so very much. I hope it does pay off one of these days but if I remember Cpt. Natalie's men are positioned throughout the castle so you are bound to run into them if you look further down the opposite side of this hallway." Aikka inform her as he points her into the opposite direction since the Royal Family quarters were the only rooms down this hallway.

"Thank you King Aikka. I look forward to talking to you again _Queen _Eva, have a good night." She bows again before following Aikka's hand as a guide and makes her way down the hallway.

"Are you alright?" Aikka pose to his wife since she seemed to be in another zone when he had turned them back into the location of their destination, their bedroom.

"I'am sorry…it is just something that looks familiar to me about her…but anyway you're coming with me to the doctor…no ifs and buts about you hear me?" Eva order in her motherly tone with her husband causing him to start laughing because she was secertly jealous of Princess Mai.

Princess Mai rounds the corner before she pause there and produces a silver mechanism which display a holographic black Krog with one missing eye, "I'm in…what do I have to do next?"

After receiving her given instructions, she quickly rush off of the phone since she was paranoid that her being allied with the Krogs would have made her an outcast to Nourasia causing her to forfeit her princess rights.

0000

The next day brought the same sunshine that wakes her husband and herself to another day in their beloved country Noursaia, a beautiful palace and a large bed but most importantly was in each other arms.

Aikka placed his head gently on his wife stomach as he would always do whenever it was close to her due date, which he did with the twins, and would stay there until he got a reaction out of their baby.

"So did you feel anything yet?" Eva pose after she had woken him up a couple of hours early because of kicks from their baby in her stomach.

Aikka wasted no time in placing his ear against her stomach and remained in that same position ever since he was awake.

"Well you don't have to worry about kicking anymore," Aikka comments when he lifted his head away from his wife's protruding stomach.

"Do I have to get up? I just want to stay in bed." Eva suggest since she no longer felt like moving let alone putting on some clothes or going to the doctor.

"Eh? You were the one who was eagered to go see the doctor this morning. I can get you a wheelchair if that's what you want?" Aikka reponse with a confused look on his face after what he just heard his wife request him to do.

Eva huffs out a long tired sigh because of her playing peacemaker last night between Natalie and Jordan, or their _Avatar_, was rougher than she expected. She at least thought that throughout the whole argument that they would gain some type of cease-fire truce and just be friends but from the sound of Natalie's tone she was highly upset with whatever Jordan had found out about her.

She noticed that her husband raised one of his eyebrows at her as if he knew she was not telling him something important and he wanted to know what it was "I'm just tired after trying to prevent Natalie from trying to kill Jordan last night."

"I don't blame her." he mumbles when he could feel a pillow hit his arm after what he muttered. He glanced up to see that his wife was the culprit.

"Well whatever Jordan did it sounded as if he can't cover his tracks with her…and they said some pretty harsh things to each other, too." Eva gives Aikka a roundabout answer. She removed the pillow from against his arm and placed it back underneath her head.

"Jordan had said that Natalie would never enjoy true happiness because she doesn't take time to focus on her personal needs and wants. He even went on to say that she wouldn't be aware of when people would use her for their own good. On top of that, he had called her a cold-hearted bitch. Doesn't that sound harsh to you, Aikka?" she pose to her husband when he return his head back to her stomach.

"It all depends on what Jordan did to her but how did Natalie respond?" Aikka inquires since he was curious at how his Captain would react to the Avatar's harsh words.

"Natalie countered against Jordan by saying that he had invaded her privacy. That he was a jerk and that he doesn't take people feelings into thought when he does stuff. She even issued out a vocal restraining order against him; that if he came around she would not hesitate to kick his ass." Eva summarizes Natalie's part to her husband.

"He must have really crossed the line with her with what ever he did…" "I never would have thought that the King would be the noisy type." It was _his_ voice.

"What are you doing in _our_ bedroom?" Aikka questions as he quickly lift his head from Eva's stomach as if surprised that Jordan lacked the common curtesy with any thing that he did by announcing that he was coming into their room when he had already been there.

"I was strolling through the hallway and I just so happen to overhear that someone mentioned my name so I thought they wanted me in the room. So here I am?" Jordan explain his presence in a sarcastic tone that suited him all to well.

"My _wife _was just telling me about your attempted apology session to one of my soldiers and that some harsh words were exchanged between you two. It seems as if it has arrived at the front of my gate." Aikka answer Jordan's question.

"And if you were to let your wife finish then you would understand that we agreed through Eva's threat that we would not allow our or rather my façade make its way into your home." Jordan quickly fires back. Eva was growing tired of this childish rivalry between the two. It was then that she had decided to interject herself into the conversation.

"What did you do to her, Jordan? I do deserve to know the answer to that question, don't I?" Eva used her charm against Jordan since she mentally knew that being peacemaker was about to pay off in her favor.

"Why yes you do but only if you allow me to speak to Natalie one last time." Jordan propse as his means of a wager.

"That's solely up to Captain Andros. I know that you know that she doesn't want to see your face especially not at this time." Eva claim as she remind him about last night and Natalie's demand.

"Since when have I ever listen to what other people tell me to do?" Jordan questions, as if it were a joke, however Aikka and Eva stare at each other sending a mental message claiming that Natalie was right about Jordan and whatever he did to her.

"Okay then. I'll try and set something up for you but not until you tell me what exactly did you to make Natalie so upset?" Eva submit to Jordan's conditions on a semi turn as she was going to ultimately claim both prizes.

"Well this is what happen…" Jordan begin to tell his side of the story to Aikka and Eva.

0000

Natalie makes her way through the halls of the castle while confirming Princess Mai knew where she was going this time. Since Natatile caught wind about the princess _accidental _bump in with the King and Queen where no soldiers of hers were on site or present.

'_She's a rather bold being a stalker…' _she thought before she thought back to how she was able to prepare for Princess Mai's arrival and that was thanks to none other then….

The Avatar. Natalie's now sworn enemy.

Her heels click against the marble floor as she was making her way to the King and Queen's private bedroom to inform them of the entire Princess Mai situation.

As she nears the double doors, she could heard some muffled voice talking. She stealthy crack the door open to see the King and Queen sitting alert on their beds with something golden in front of them.

"Well this is what happen…" the Avatar starts to talk.


	11. The Truth Unfolds

"Well it all started off when I first came here and I pretty much bribed Natalie into getting some lunch with me since all my other attempts were being shot down. So I had to get a little forceful and tell her who has been spying on you two but I did not flat out tell her though since I am binded by a galactic oath." Jordan began his story as he saw that not only was Eva attentive but Aikka was also paying attention to what he was saying.

"So right off the back you bribed her into going on a date with you? That is so typical of you but keep going on with your story." Eva encouraged, as she knew that there was something else behind the story.

"So while we were there, I use my powers to read her mind to see if she was enjoying spending time with me but my little plan backfired. Natalie found a way to block me out when she was attentive to what she was doing and not only that but she managed to use my technique against me." Jordan picked up where he left off, as he made sure that Natalie could hear him from the cracked door.

"Natalie managed to use your technique against you, that's pretty impressive but that is not why you two are arguing is it?" Eva asked as that scenario made it seem as if they were very childish and that harsh words were not need for that.

"Nope, when she was checking Princess Mai's belongings, I had leaned over to touch her arm because she seemed so intent on trying to find something in her bag, every since I told her to keep a close eye on Princess Mai." Jordan told the real reason why Natalie and him were feuding.

"Did you do it on purpose? I mean Natalie may think that since you did it the first time to gain some information than she would feel the same if you did it the second time. Did you ever stop to think about that?" Aikka inquired about Jordan's thoughts on how Natalie felt in the situation.

'_Thank you King Aikka, at least someone understands what I am going through.' _Natalie thought while she had her back on the wall with her right foot flat against the wall while her hands were behind her back with her eyes close content on hearing Jordan's excuse.

"Aikka, you of all people should know that if I feel strongly about someone then I am just focused on them. Why don't you ask your wife for that answer?" Jordan stated when he crossed his arms across his chest when he asked the question.

"Jordan, why do you always have to make it about _you_? That is the problem right there, maybe if you were to take Natalie's feelings into certain things you do than she may probably like you." Eva's voice was calm but she was peeved that he would ask her husband such a question.

Jordan had paused as if a thought had pass through his head as if he was going to consider it and then it went away like that, "So am I free to go or do you have to go get the other _one_?"

"You know as a Captain I would think that eavesdropping was below you?" a feminine voice spoke when Natalie opened and cut her eyes over to see that Princess Mai was in some very revealing pajamas that seem unfit for a princess to wear.

"If you must know I was not eavesdropping, as you can see the King and Queen is talking to a very important guest and it would be rude of me to interrupt them with the news that I have to tell them." Natalie half lied but the latter part of her statement was true.

"Well then it sounds as if they are going to be in there for a while, could you do me the honor and show me where the dining hall is, because I haven't had anything to eat since leaving my home to come here." Mai stated before she thought that she was going to run into Aikka again in her pajamas and was bum to see Natalie standing guard at the door.

"I don't see anything wrong with that, matter of fact, I have to met my dad down there in a couple of minutes." Natalie gave an excuse to keep an eye on Princess Mai as a thought pass through her head.

_'She is very confident that her plan will work out? She must really think I am dumb if she is trying to coy King Aikka into her arms and away from his true love, Queen Eva, oh she was not going to have no home wrecker mess up the King and Queen's relationship.' _Natalie thought to herself before she cut to see Princess Mai with a smile on her face with her eyes closed.

"Is that all that you two were arguing about?" Eva snapped Jordan back into his thoughts as his eyes were set on the door.

"That is pretty much it and I asked her about the images that I saw and she snapped at me for asking about that." Jordan answered Eva's question with an inward smile.

"Well we are going to have to cut this short, Eva has a doctor appointment, she has to go to and we don't want to be late for that, now do we?" Aikka asked Eva but his eyes were dead set on Jordan so that he would not try anything crazy when Jordan was around his wife alone.

Eva could feel the tension in the room and knew that if she did not hurry up and get out the bed then there may be a full fledge throw down in her bedroom and she was not going to have that.

"Now you know I don't want to go…whatever I told you last night, scratch it from your head." Eva pouted when she cross her arms and threw a small temper tantrum while lying on the bed.

"Sorry no can do, you are three months away from your due month, so lets go." Aikka knew that if he did not convince his wife to do what she said then there was no point in getting her out of the bed.

Aikka rose from his feet and made his way around their bed and stopped in front of her and extended his hands in front of him and knew that if Eva reached out then she was going to go and if she did not he was not going to push the matter.

Eva looked up at Aikka and could tell that either choose she made he was perfectly fine and content with it. "I swear you are too good to me sometimes." She answered after sticking her arms out and locked her hands within his.

Jordan felt as if he needed to throw up after seeing the scene in front of him since he knew that he was the better person because if he did not sacrifice his life for Eva then she would not be this…_happy_ being a wife let only a mommy to two and one on the way.

"I'll take my leave but if Natalie is serious about that restraining order, I mean I do like visiting you guys here on Nourasia when I did my rounds for the day." Jordan inquired about whether or not what Natalie threatened him with last night at the Royal Gardens was true.

"Now you know that Natalie is very stubborn and so she might or she might not, that is a question you are going to have to ask her yourself." Eva spoke again after she rose to her feet and began to look around the room for clothes.

"Well then I hope I cleared up any confusion that I cause and I think I need to talk to Rick before I leave again." Jordan used that, as an excuse to leave the room as he wondered was Natalie still listening in on their conversation.

0000

Natalie let out a small sneeze as she had covered her nose so that it would not spread on the food that Princess Mai had on her plate in her right hand.

"Excuse me, I did not mean to sneeze on you if I did." Natalie apologized when she reached over and grabbed a wipe and cleaned her hands before she touched anyone or anything and get them sick.

"You know we have an old belief that when you sneeze and you are not sick but rather someone is talking about you." Mai offered before she removes a seat from the dining room table and placed her rump in it.

"I can somewhat believe that _legend_." Natalie answered with a small smile on her face since the princess did not know how close she was to the truth.

"For me, I think it is a good thing because they have you on their minds you know even though they might not like you. Ironic, huh, how we hate something so much that we end up loving it." Princess Mai stated as for some reason it rubbed her the wrong way the way she said it and the timing of her advice.

'_It sounds as if she knows too much about me already I better reinforce the wall.' _She thought when she swore she saw a golden speck of light caught her attention.

"Its nothing like waking up to a beautiful face, I must have died and went to heaven." Natalie registered it was Jordan, or the _Avatar's _voice, but what she saw would be forever engraved in her memory.

Jordan had took a seat that was very close to Princess Mai with his hand on her cheek while the free hand had her hand in his, as she seem caught off guard by his action but did not move instant from the sudden intrusion of her personal space.

"I did not know that I was going to be in the presence of the Avatar? I would have worn something more presentable." Mai faked an excuse as she swore she felt a dark aura nearby her that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and goose bumps appear on her arms.

She looked up to see Captain Natalie with the dark purple and black ominous aura around her as her eyes were no longer visible as she had her left hand on the Avatar's right shoulder and in a dark tone spoke the following words, "I thought I told you to leave this castle, after all I can arrest you for harassing a guest of the Royal Family."

"Well I am sorry about that. I won't be able to have a full conversation with you since your future seems quite ambitious if I may say so myself and I like my women with goals." Jordan responded back before he removed his hands from Mai's face.

"Isn't there a way that I can keep him here, I mean he is the _Avatar_, so he could be my guest to show me around Noursaia." Mai was making excuses for him to stay as Natalie mentally shook her head and thought that Jordan had something planned up his sleeves.

"On the grounds of visitations then yes I can not do anything about it but on the grounds of a stay longer than one day, which is something that he did not tell us about, then no he can not due to safety hazards." Natalie offered two solutions for the scenario that she described.

"Thank you Captain Natalie, you really have a heart of gold." Mai proclaimed, as it was just all a part of her plan in winning Aikka over before the end of her trip and that she would soon become Queen of both her kingdom and his.

"Thank you for allowing me to accompy you Princess Mai but something you just said came to my attention. I mean Princess Mai, how long have you know Captain Natalie in order to say that she has a heart of gold?" Jordan questioned as he decided to change the subject.

"This looks good, Captain Natalie?" he snapped his fingers as if she was a dog heeding his commands.

"Yes, what is?" she asked simply because she wanted to hear what outlandish request he would want her to do.

"Can you feed me those over there, the green grapes, I mean simply my arms is killing me since I had to rebuild a world's civilization over again today." Jordan asked when he exaggerated the latter part of his question but Princess Mai seemed to roll with it.

Natalie stood there in complete awe when she wonder where in the world did Jordan get off with asking her to do something like that, Avatar and definitely not if he was, she would refuse to do it.

"You know you have a mouth so all you have to do is pick it up with your mouth?" Natalie offered her suggestion in a calm tone but instead of looking at her when she answered he was focus completely on Mai.

"However you should be trying to present Noursaia to Princess Mai as a civilized kingdom where it cares for the needs of the King and Queen's guests? I am sure King Aikka and Queen Eva chose you for that particular reason to serve as 'campus security'. Don't you agree with me Princess Mai?" Jordan presented facts against her when Natalie had a feeling that the longer she would stay in this argument than she would sure enough lose.

"Oh, she did a fabulous job, when she came to greet me and I do must say it was a very unique approach when she came out and did herself. I would usually be free to explore the castle on my own or there would be like this perky tour guide always trying to convince me with something. It was like it was natural when I met Captain Natalie." Mai complimented Natalie's creative approach and saw that the woman wore a smirk on her face.

'_Shows how much you really know, you idiot.' _She thought as she remembers that she still had her hand on his shoulder and decided to remove it.

"You don't say, huh? I mean what can you expect when you graduate the top of your class, the youngest and so far the only female to ever hold the rank of a Captain? Do you see a promotion in your future so you can continue to break down more walls?" Jordan asked with what would seem like genuine questions to someone who did not know him but to Natalie he had a hidden meaning behind those questions.

Mai's eyes grew wide out of pure shock as she began to wonder what else she need to take into note for the woman name Natalie since she seem to be one of the possible threats to her plan.

"That is amazing! I mean after all there are not a lot of women that are in the military or deal with anything like that. My kingdom does not have that yet but I have been encouraging some women to be active with their decisions."

"Isn't she just a wonderful humanitarian, Captain Andros, you don't find those often either do you?" Jordan asked her as to her he still wore his poker face in front of Princess Mai.

"Unfortunately not, since I deal with people who wants something that the other country has and they don't or they are just so gung-ho on trying to take over a planet or my all time favorite the so called anti-movement that is really nothing but a terrorist attacks on Noursaia." Natalie spoke as she silently hoped that her statement was hitting close to the duos homes.

"It sounds like you deal with a lot as a Captain, do you like having that kind of power?" Mai asked as she was already beginning to draw up plans on how to eliminate the woman in front of her.

"Actually that is the General's job…all I do is command a group of soldiers when time calls for it but we are pretty much like a family." Natalie simplified her way of talk since she knew military talk was something Mai wanted to get an earful of for her plan to run smoothly.

"That sounds so boring, I mean come on you know you like how your heart began to beat faster and faster as it causes your adrenaline to start to rush. Then you getting to expound that energy on the opposing team and please don't let them be weaker then you are…it makes it worth while then. I mean you are in the air and you have people shooting at you and you can't help but to smile because you know your superior flight skills can outdo your opponent. At least that is what I heard from people who are in the military," Mai stated as Natalie just sat there looking at the Avatar and Princess Mai.

'_This is going to be a long day today…' _Natalie dreadfully thought after she had her hand on her head.


	12. Tour of the Kingdom

"I do believe so, Natalie." Eva answered her question after messing with her son's hair.

"Where are you going, daddy?" Kiera asked her daddy when she hooked her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulders.

"We are going to show Princess Mai our kingdom, along with Natalie to be our security." Aikka answered his daughter's question.

"Can we come to? We don't want to stay in the castle it is to boring." Kiera inquired on if they could join their party.

"Is that fine with you Natalie, if they come along with us?" Aikka turned to the raven-haired woman and asked.

"I don't see a problem with it, so shall we get started?" Natalie asked towards the now expanded group of six people when they saw a horse pulling a carriage in their direction.

"I am surprised that you pulled this old thing out, Natalie, good job." Aikka complimented her after seeing the horse and carriage stop right in front of him.

"It wasn't hard actually all I had to do was mention your name and they gladly made another one." Natalie told him after she helped Eva up in the carriage safely along with King Aikka.

"Ladies first," Jordan said when he allowed Mai to enter the carriage and sat on the opposite side of a seated Eva.

"Alright Kieran get in after Ms. Natalie." Aikka instructed the eldest twin when he made his way into the carriage and sat to the left of his mom.

"Jordan" "Aikka" the two said each other's name at the same time when Jordan decided to go ahead and took a seat between a highly irate Natalie and a clingy Mai.

Aikka hooked the door to the special holder so it would not fly open if they hit a bump and become a potential hazard for both of his kids.

"Kiera, I want you to sit next to your brother, okay?" Aikka asked after placing his daughter down on the carriage floor before she nodded her head and joined her brother.

"Alright everyone is in, let's go." Natalie gave the signal to the horse driver when they felt the carriage wheels turn and they were making there way down the front courtyard of the castle.

0000

'_This is getting me nowhere, all the reports seem to say the same thing.' _He thought when he came across a report that was filed from Natalie's battalion.

It began as the others had but this one was reported for the Noursaia Priest Water Fountain, _'There is a possibility that there are two assailants that is after the King and Queen.'_

Rick rose to his feet when he had his first lead and he was going to capitalize on it, while the family was under Natalie's watch.

'_It has to be something that those idiots overlooked when they were processing the crime scene.' _Rick thought after he had a mental list of all the locations that the reports linked to, the closest one was where he had found Eva when she disappeared that day.

A gentle breeze blew Rick's long hair away from his shoulders when he made his way towards where the little mouse would go if she ever wanted to escape from the castle.

'_A perfect hiding spot would be…those bushes.' _He thought once he stood in front of the small pool of water that was the lake when he turned to the rather large bushes that was about ten feet away from his current position.

'_There has got to be something in these bushes.' _Rick inwardly thought when he mimic the actions of a stalker would do with the intention of not being found.

A small piece of brown cloth caught his eyes when he reached in and pulled the small piece of fabric out of the branches hold, _'So there was someone here…the gardener uniforms are not brown but a yellow color.' _

He ruled out the fact that it could have been someone taking care of the flowers in the surrounding area, when he could make out two spots that was incase in the ground.

'_The first one comes from someone heavier than the person on the right because this one is well-defined.' _He thought after feeling the two spots of matted grass.

'_This confirms that someone snuck into this area to spy on Eva but for what reason?' _he asked himself before he placed the piece of cloth inside an empty pouch when he decided that he should probably move on to the next location for some more clues.

0000

"You have a beautiful kingdom." Mai said to no one in particular while they were making their rounds of the entire kingdom.

"Why thank you but you should thank the architects who first founded Noursaia, after all they pretty much nailed everything down to a tee when it came to building a new civilization." Natalie stated when she felt Jordan shift in his seat.

Kieran and Kiera looked at the woman that they learn whose name was Mai before looking at each other when they nodded their heads.

'_She is the one that was talking to that black rabbit.' _The two thought before Natalie turned their attention to the park that was semi-busy with Nourasians walking around enjoying the day.

"They say that if you say the name of the person you wish to love on that statue over there, your wish will come true." Jordan stated to Mai, who suddenly seemed interested in the legend.

"Did it work for you King Aikka?" Mai turned the attention towards the King, who had his arm around his wife, when he looked at the asker of the question.

When he saw Jordan nod his head towards him, Aikka knew that he was lying but he wanted to keep her with a smile on the face, "Yes, it did."

"Ms. Natalie, tomorrow can we go here. I would like to see if the legend would come true?" Mai asked the woman that looked as if she was about to burn buildings down with her gaze.

"Sure, why not, it won't be a problem at all." Natalie answered when a thought pass her head, _'I can't believe she fell for that lie…she must really be an airhead.'_

"You know it is nice to talk about people you don't know." Jordan leaned over and whispered to Natalie, who merely jabbed him in the side with an elbow.

'_Look whose the one talking…' _Natalie allowed her mind to drift back to the conversation that Jordan had with King Aikka and Queen Eva in their private room.

"_So while we were there, I use my powers to read her mind to see if she was enjoying spending time with me but my little plan backfired. Natalie found a way to block me out when she was attentive to what she was doing and not only that but she managed to use my technique against me."_

'_People who use their powers to bring misery on to other people, the Avatar is not suppose to have that image.'_

The rest of the tour went smoothly than Natalie expected, with Princess Mai keeping the Avatar busy along with the King and Queen there silently keeping him in check, which in turned allowed Natalie much more freedom and a worry free trip.

"Mommy, we are hungry." Kieran and Kiera said in unison while looking towards Eva, their mother.

"We are almost home you, two, can you wait a few more minutes for mommy?" Eva asked her children when she looked over towards them.

"Mhm," the two answered while nodding their heads before going back to talking to each other.

"You know you never told me how many you were having. I would love to know." Jordan asked when he saw Eva glaring at him while Aikka had the exact same smile from earlier when he asked the same question.

"I don't feel like talking about it right now, I feel a little sleepy." Eva answered when she fell back on her husband's shoulders.

The lights of the castle had a homecoming feeling for the twins when their mouths began to water at what all they might have to eat for dinner. "Alright everyone, we made it back to the castle, the last stop on our tour."

"You did a fabulous job on being our tour guide, Natalie." Mai complimented her when Aikka rose to his feet and unhook the latch on the door and it swung open.

"I agree with Princess Mai, you did a good job." Eva extends her compliments to Natalie who thanked them for their appreciation of her job. "Thank you Queen Eva and Princess Mai for the compliment."

Jordan merely rolled his eyes at how Natalie sounded so fake towards Mai but sincere towards Eva, _'She's just going to live her life like a little bleep…never to amount to her potential.' _

0000

"I see you made it back with all your limbs intact." Rick said to Jordan when he made his way towards him.

"She wanted to kill me that badly?" Jordan asked when Rick merely shook his head in disbelief at Jordan and his attitude towards the situation he was in with Natalie.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?" Jordan inquired about why Rick had stopped him.

"Nope, I just wanted to see if you would come back dead or alive and it seems as if my wish came true, well see you later then." Rick answered before making his way towards Natalie who was talking to the man who had drove them around Noursaia.

"Natalie, are you done here?" Rick asked when he approached his daughter.

"Yeah, I had to tell him to come back here tomorrow so I can pay him for the services he provided to us. What's wrong?" Rick heard her asked him.

"I want to tell you that someone else has been added on the mission along with us." Rick answered his daughter's question.

"Who is it, dad?" Natalie inquired about the identity of who was going to join on the case along with them.

"Don't flip out when I show you who it is, follow me to my office." Rick instructed his daughter who complied with the order.

'_I wonder who it is?' _she thought as some ideas were passing through her head the whole time she walking towards her father office.

"Come on in," Rick snapped his daughter out of her thoughts when he opened the door.

"Hey there Natalie." The person greeted her when her pupils grew wide, "Not you…"

0000

"Come on you two take your seats at the table or you won't eat." Eva threatened her kids when they ran right pass her and took their respective seats.

"Food!" the two exclaimed after seeing the butlers brings out food for dinner when Eva turned sees that her kids wanted her to join them for dinner.

"Is there something wrong, Eva?" she heard Aikka asked her when he entered the dining hall.

"Oh…its nothing now." Eva answered as she made her way and took a seat next to Kiera, while Aikka took a seat next to Kieran.

"Mommy isn't the Avatar and the lady going to join us for dinner?" Kiera innocently asked her mother after she took her seat.

"I do not know they were pretty tired after the tour of our home so I think the butler will send their food up to their rooms." Eva answered as best as she could.

"Did you two enjoy Natalie's tour?" Aikka asked his kids when he began to eat his meal decided to change the topic.

"Mhm, she sure does know a lot about our world doesn't she?" Kieran answered his dad's question when he asked another one.

"I did not know about that legend of wishing on someone's name and they will be your lover." Kiera expressed her delight in her favorite part of the trip.

"You should not be worried about love for a while young lady." Aikka answered as Eva could tell his protective nature came over after hearing what Kiera said.

"But mom, what do you think?" Eva heard her youngest daughter at the moment ask her.

"I say listen to your heart and go with your instincts, but like your father said you should not be worried about that at the moment." Eva answered in a delicate manner, as she could understand where daughter was coming from.

"If mommy says I have to wait then I will." Kiera stated while looking up at her mother who returned the same small gesture.

Aikka looked at Eva as she could only shrug her shoulders since she knew what that look meant, "So are you two ready to go back to your lessons with Master Canaan?"

He saw his daughter freeze up for a moment before continuing with her meal, "No not really, since Morose is going to be back there."

"Besides her, don't you want to go back to learn so more of Master Canaan's teachings?" Aikka inquired when Eva gave him the look of a mother lion protecting her cubs.

"I am sorry if I brought up any bad thoughts of you and Morose, Kiera, will you accept my apology?" Aikka asked his daughter when he saw Kiera look up at him with dazzling eyes.

"Mhm, I do, daddy, but I am ready to go back and learn so I can be as good as archery as you are." Kiera answered his question with a tone of happiness.

"Kieran, do you have the same goal as your sister or is there something else you want to do?" Eva asked her son since she didn't want him to feel left out of their conversation.

She saw he nodded his head a yes, "I want to be better than dad and Master Canaan put together."

Aikka found himself ruffling his son's hair after hearing his goal, "Well good luck with that, since you told me that I have to up my training then."

"Hey I want to be better than dad and Master Canaan, too." Kiera suddenly changed her goal after hearing what Kieran said.

"How about this Kieran and Kiera, work as a team to be better than your father and Master Canaan, you will get there faster." Eva encouraged her twins to work as a team.

The twins nodded their heads and once in again in synch responded with a yes.


	13. A Knight's Tale

"Hey there Natalie," the voice greeted her when she muttered "No way…"

A young man that was around her age with blonde hair and obsidian colored pupils was the source of the greeting when she arrived in her father's office.

"Natalie, you already know that this is Minato, he commands the #010 Battalion and is going to help us with the investigation." Rick informed her when she saw the man remove himself from the seat.

She saw that he wore a navy blue tunic with black pants along with black boots. His golden hilt of his long sword caught her attention when she noticed that on the three ends of the hilt were sapphires encrusted into it.

He reached for her hand when she noticed that he had wore black fingerless gloves when he brought his lips to the back of her hand.

"It is a pleasure to finally see you again, the first woman to gain the ranks as Captain of the #245 Battalion, your reputation proceeds you." The man in front of her name Minato stated after placing her hands back to her side.

"You would not be the same Minato, that captains the battalion of renegades and mercenaries, would you?" Natalie inquired about his creditability.

"That would be me but my men prefer to be call soldiers of Noursaia like your battalion is, at least can we call them that." Minato sounded slightly offended at what Natalie just asked him.

"I apologize if I stepped out of line there since all those who are drafted into our ranks are soldiers no matter of their past." Natalie sincerely apologized after hearing how offended he was to her statement.

"You know you are the first person she warmed up to as quickly as she did." Rick interjected which earned him a slap on the arm from Natalie.

"Well then I guess I must consider myself lucky since she is known to have an iron fist when it comes down to the opposite sex." Minato answered which caused Natalie to blush out of embarrassment.

'_I can't believe that the Avatar had a point when it came to that.' _She thought when she had a rebuttal in her head but was cut off by her father.

"You have developed the reputation to take the hardest solider and teach them the ways of being a knight. I am proud of you young man." Rick interjected his opinion of the young man that stood at his height.

"A knight?" Natalie repeated, as she could not see him as a knight.

He let out a chuckle, "Yes, Ms. Andros, King Aikka dubbed me as a knight some years back as well as some of the Captains from the #001 and up to my battalion as knights."

'_What! I can't believe that I am the lower ranking officer among them two. How come he never told me that?' _ "Your father is our leader."

Natalie turned to see that her dad was laughing the whole situation off, "If you don't mind Natalie can you catch Minato up on all the information that we know?"

"So now you are giving me babysitter's duty _again_?" she asked her father in a bored tone after hearing his request.

"Trust me, I will be on my best behavior so you won't have to worry about me. It is an honor and a privilege to work under you again, Sir Rick." Minato slightly bowed at the waist.

"You won't have to use that title around here, now go on, I am going to get me something to eat from the kitchen." Rick nearly pushed them out of his office when he walked off in the opposite direction of them.

"So can I see the King and the Queen?" Minato flat out asked Natalie who continued to walk in the direction of the dining hall, "They are eating in the dining hall so I am going to take you to them."

_'I can not believe that this blonde haired bimbo did not tell me that he was a knight.' _Natalie thought to herself.

0000

"So was dinner delicious you two?" Eva asked her children as they nodded their heads in agreement.

"Make sure you thank the cook for the delicious meal." Aikka told his children as they once again repeated their previous action.

"King Aikka, Queen Eva, Prince Kieran and Princess Kiera, I am sorry to interrupt you but you have a guest…his name is…"

"Minato," Natalie saw the two twins remove themselves from the dining table and ran towards the blonde haired man.

"My, my, my, you two sure have grown since the last time I saw you two." Minato answered as Natalie could only twitch her eyebrow in disbelief.

'_Ah come on…who is it he doesn't know!' _she screamed in her head when she saw Aikka and Eva near them.

"Ah, Minato it is so good to see you again, how have you been old friend?" Aikka asked after extending a hand towards the blonde haired man.

"Well, I see that the queen is pregnant, yet again, what are you expecting?" Minato inquired as Natalie tried to give him a red flag for asking that question since the queen would usually be slightly upset when answering.

Eva held up three fingers, two on one hand where Kieran stood and one where Kiera stood. "Wow, five…" he whispered to the adults when Natalie almost lost her mind.

'_He has not even been here for least than an hour and he already got the answer to the question that the Avatar could not even get the answer to.'_

'_Who is this guy he is not the same from when I first meet him?' _Natalie thought after seeing him exchange talks with the twins who were already warmed up to him.

'_They were looking at Princess Mai as if she was foreign but she was just like them yet when they see Minato they run with joy.' _Natalie thought when she could feel a migraine coming on.

"So how long will you be staying with us, Minato?" Aikka asked which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"That just reminds me, I need to get Minato caught up on security measures since he has been away for so long." Natalie thought of an excuse when she heard Aikka's voice.

"Here is a little fact for you, Minato along with your father made up the security protocols so I am sure Rick kept him updated."

Eva noticed that Natalie know had an aura of depression around her, _'Ah come on!'_

"Ms. Andros is right. I do have to get caught up but I will see you tomorrow morning. I hope you all have a good night." Minato told them when the twins agreed before leaving with their father and mother in tow.

Minato saw Natalie isolated herself away from the group after hearing what Aikka told her, _'He is just too perfect.' _

"Ah cheer up, I really did not do that much…hey are you all right?" he asked her when he tapped her and she eased.

"I am going to bed!" Natalie suddenly proclaimed when she stood up from her crotched position forcing Minato to take a step back.

"Aren't you going to get me caught up with the case?" he asked her which suddenly reminded her of her military duties.

"We do not have so much information so I can tell you on the way towards where you will be staying." Natalie answered his question as they made their way out of the dining room when she bumped into someone.

The solid ground was never felt as someone was holding her up by her waist, "Are you alright Ms. Andros?"

Golden specks caught her eyes when it immediately registered in her head who exactly did she bump into, "Are you alright?" it was Princess Mai whose voice chimed in.

"Hey, you should be watching where you are going!" Natalie fired off forgetting that Minato held her in his grasp.

"Could you stop being so rough, I still do have you in my arms." Minato stated which quieted her actions as well as her anger.

Jordan turned to see that Natalie no longer argued with him, which was something out of the norm for her. "Who are you?"

Minato had to place Natalie down in fear of her causing him physical harm and possible injuries to him.

"I did not know that the Avatar roamed these halls, it is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Minato." Minato introduce himself after kneeling to one of his knees.

"You don't have to bend to a knee for this jerk, who is insensitive to people around him. Hey Mai, he is trying to use you to make me jealous but what he doesn't know is that I never did like him!" Natalie let out of her tirade before storming off down the hallway.

"I'll handle this for you, she might rip your head off if she talks to you." Minato stated before taking off towards Natalie who was still fuming.

"Is that true?" Mai inquired about what Natalie said was true or not.

"No it is not." Jordan lied but he knew he personally did not care since he had learned to be a habitual liar even though he did not wanted to. _'That's another lie right there.'_

'_I just don't like the fact that this Minato character is going to be an obstacle towards getting Natalie.' _His thoughts had turned towards Minato.

"It is getting late, I am going to walk you to your room okay?" Jordan told her as they made their way towards the guest wing of the castle.

0000

'_I need something to punch.' _She thought when she found herself walking outside when a small boulder caught her attention.

"Natalie wait up," Minato said after catching up to where she was, which was her standing in front of a small boulder.

Natalie moved her feet so that they were shoulder width apart and with a deep breath channeled her anger into her right fist before connecting with the boulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked her before the sound of something cracking was heard when the boulder snapped in half.

'_Iron fist indeed…' _Minato thought when he noticed that she had turned to face him.

"What do you want Minato, can't you see I am not in the correct mood to talk to right now?" Natalie asked as she could feel her rage leaving her body after punching the rock.

"A captain always keeps their composure if they don't then it means that they are going to risk losing lives in their battalion. If you are not careful then you will end up doing something reckless." Minato answered her with the creed that they took in order to be a Captain.

"Don't feed me that crap right now, this is not the battlefield so I can express my emotions if I want!" Natalie answered, as she did not feel like being belittled already.

"It's obvious that you have a probably with a galactic individual who sits at a much higher rank than any of us ever will. Whatever he did that made you upset doesn't justify his position as the Avatar, whatsoever but at the moment, we can not afford to be having personal vendettas or you will lose sight of the mission." Minato answered her with a stern tone.

He could tell that his words were sinking in when she ran her fingers through her head of hair and let out a sight of relief.

"Besides I don't think any more rocks deserve to be punch like that, how is your fist?" Minato asked when he pointed at the rock and then her hand.

"I didn't feel anything at all…see." She lifted her hand up to show she had no bruise or marks on her knuckles.

'_She couldn't be part of one those experiments…could she?' _he thought after observing her wrists.

"Hey Minato," she brought the blonde of his thoughts, "Yes?" he asked.

"Thanks I needed to be reminded of my position, when someone calls you a cold-hearted bitch that never thinks about her thoughts or feelings and fails to see the small picture then I don't see why I can't hold my anger against that person." Natalie's eyes cut away from him when she answered his question.

'_Someone called her that…could it have been the Avatar?' _he thought as it was beginning to make sense now the reason why she was so angry.

"Listen to me, you should not allow people who barely know you pass judgment on you. You simply prove that their statement is wrong. Whoever called you that is not a man at all." Minato stated his opinion when Natalie felt her cheeks burning.

'_What am I doing?' _she thought as she was slightly speechless form her conversation with Minato, "Since we are going in the same direction, we can walk together and you can just fill me in on the information tomorrow, does that sound like a deal?"

"But wait a minute, Rick asked me to inform you tonight and it would not be right if I don't tell you." Natalie felt a yawn coming on which she stop with her hand.

"See your not in the mood of talking besides, I traveled quite a while and I would not mind a comfortable bed to sleep in. Come on…" he offered his hand towards her.

'_What am I doing?' _she thought again when she took his offered hand as a smile grew on her face.

'_He hasn't even been here for a full hour yet and he got a smile on her face when all I got was another argument to take my head off.' _Jordan thought after observing the conversation from Mai's window.

'_How dare he comes into this castle and play peacemaker and greeted me as if I knew him on a personally level.' _ Jordan remembers how this Minato character addressed him.

"Thanks for walking me to my room. I deeply appreciate it." Mai's voice brought him out of her thoughts when she still stood with her door open.

As he was making his way out of the room, he pause to look at Mai, "How bad do you want Aikka?"

"What! Where is this coming from?" Mai asked as her eyes side cast to show her embarrassment.

"I already know why you came to this kingdom in the first place and from what I see your plan is not going to work. If you do what I tell you then you just might have your wish."


	14. All About Natalie

The morning rays shone on the kingdom of Noursaia, as it would any other morning when Aikka heard his wife groan from waking up from her slumber.

"Good morning." He greeted his wife with a kiss on the forehead and placed the side of his face on her stomach.

"Well it seems as if they had a good night sleep too," he joked with his wife, which earned a small smile from her.

"Good morning to you too." Eva returned the greeting when she shifted to get back comfortable.

"Do you think you are going to be able to walk the twins to their lessons today?" Aikka asked since he knew the closer she got to her due date the harder it would be for her to move around.

"No, can we just stay in bed today, I don't feel like moving at all." Eva answered when she released a tired sigh.

Aikka resumed his original position that he had on the bed when he felt his wife head move onto his chest, "So one is going to have to take them or they would be upset."

"I got someone in mind." Eva answered when someone came to her head.

0000

"Are you two ready to go?" Natalie asked the twins after they were getting dress for their lessons with Master Canaan.

"Where's our mommy?" Kiera inquired about where her mother was since she was the one along with Aikka to take them today.

'_How can I answer this?' _"Your mommy has been carrying around your siblings in her stomach for a while so she just needs her rest." she answered in the best way as possible.

"Hey, Kieran, mommy is still sleeping so Ms. Andros is going to take us today." Kiera shouted to her brother who emerged from the closet.

"We are finished here." Kieran answered Natalie's first question as the trio made their way towards the front entrance.

0000

Princess Mai peeked her head around the corner to see the same man she saw from last night who was with Natalie.

'_If it is for me to have Aikka to myself than I will do it.' _Mai thought while she gathered her resolve and strolled towards the taller male.

"Uh, excuse me," Mai tapped his tall shoulder when she noticed that he was looking at her.

"Yes, what is it Princess?" Minato asked the smaller female who had approached him just a couple of seconds ago.

"I was wondering if Natalie was alright, she seemed visibly upset last night and I wanted to see if she was okay." Mai inquired about Natalie's plight.

"You got that right, I have never seen a woman that mad in my life but she is doing just fine. Is she a friend of yours, Princess?" Minato asked as he had a feeling something was off with the woman who stood next to him.

Mai nodded her head a yes, "I have taken to her as one, and it seems as if she has done the same thing for me."

"Good morning Minato!" Mai heard some children shouts when she saw the twins swarm at the blonde haired man's legs.

"Good morning Prince Kieran and Princess Kiera, where are you two off to?" Minato was curious as to where the twins were going with Natalie.

"Natalie is going to take us to Master Canaan, do you want to join us?" Kiera asked the older and taller man, who looked to see that Natalie was making her way towards them.

"Is that fine with you Ms. Andros?" Minato asked her when he noticed that she wore her hair in a ponytail, which showed her green eyes.

"Good morning Princess Mai and Minato, its not my decision if you want him to come with us that is." Natalie greeted to two of them with the latter part being in a nonchalant tone.

The twins rejoiced in the fact that Natalie allowed Minato to travel with them, "Princess, I promise when I come back I will take you to the park."

"You two have fun!" Mai faked being happy and wave the four of them off.

"What happened, did it work?" The Avatar asked when he approached her from his concealed hiding place.

"Look at it for yourself and it should answer your question." Mai answered with a haughty tone when she pointed to the four of them making their way down to the front gate.

'_It seems that I will have to bring out all the stops for this Minato character.' _Jordan thought before disappearing back in the castle.

0000

For some reason Natalie kept her distance away from Minato since what happened last night had her feelings mixed up.

Their entire conversation replayed through her head when she realized that her father had a point, _'I did warm up to Minato quickly…'_

"What pretty flowers." Kiera stated when she broke her hold on Minato's hand and ran over to a yellow flower, that had six outer petals that surrounded a cup shape petal, which reminded her of a trumpet.

"Princess Kiera, do you know the name of that flower?" Minato asked her as he made his way over to where Kiera was standing.

Kiera shook her head in a no fashion, "They are rarely known for their real name call Narcissus, but you know them as Daffodils." He answered his own question.

"Daffodils?" Natalie found herself asking the question that Kiera wanted to ask when Minato nodded his head a yes.

"There is a legend where this young man called Narcissus, became so obsessed with his own reflection that when he kneeled to look into the pool of water he fell in and drowned to his death. But there is another version where he starved from thirst from just sitting at the edge of the pool and before he gave out he looked at his reflection." Minato gave them a little piece of history from the flowers.

'_Why would he them those stories that could give them nightmares!' _Natalie wanted to throw another red flag from him crossing the boundaries.

"That is so sad, I hope that people in our kingdom receive food, right Kiera?" Natalie heard Kieran statement, as it was something that she would have not thought would come from him.

"People deserve to eat and drink even if they are poor." Kiera gave her own statement.

"Here I have one for you," Minato leaned over pass the Daffodils and picked up another flower that had multiple white petals with a yellow center and placed it in Kiera's hair.

"Minato, what is this flower called?" Kieran asked as Natalie found that she was slightly interested in knowing the flower name as well.

"Its name is Bellis perennis but is known to be the Daisy, it means innocence." He answered his question after making sure the flower would stay in Kiera's head.

"Ms. Natalie, these are for you." Natalie looked down to see Kieran had picked three daisies and held them up for her, "Why thank you Prince Kieran, they are beautiful."

"Come on you two, we don't want for you two be late for you lessons, now do we?" Natalie reminded the twins of their initial destination.

"Ms. Andros is right, Master Canaan would probably have my head if he knew I was the reason why I made you two late." Minato broke the twins attention away from the various bloomed flowers.

"How do you know so much about flowers?" Natalie asked when the twins walked in front of them.

"When you are an apprentice to someone who thinks flowers are a way to a woman's heart than you will pick up on a couple of things." Minato answered her question with no signs of hesitation or shame about his knowledge.

"Personally I find it a little weird that you know about flowers but if you like them then I am not entitle to say anything." Natalie said before turning her attention towards the kids and their actions.

Natalie heard Minato laugh to himself from what she told him about his interest in flowers, "Trust me you are not the only one who had the similar thought after I told them."

After a couple of minutes walking through the marketplace the traveling four found themselves in the front portion of Master Canaan's home and training area.

"So it seems as if the queen must be near her due date since you had to walk them here…Minato?" Master Canaan said when he saw Natalie and Minato in his front yard.

The exchanged a friendly hug before separating from each other, "So you must be in for a mission, I am glad you could stop by and visit."

"After all you were my first master and Ms. Natalie here told me that she was going to take the Prince and the Princess to you so I had to come and see you." Minato stated.

"I see you still have your good sense of manners, would you mind staying for some tea while the children work on their warm ups?" Master Canaan asked Minato.

"We are actually quite busy but I am sure…we can stay for just a cup of tea. After all I heard that you brew the most relaxing teas in Noursaia." Natalie cut Minato off mid sentence as the walk here had her slightly drained.

"Ah Ms. Natalie, I have heard some good things about you after the last time you came to drop the twins off for their lessons. Is it really that rough on you?" Master Canaan shifted his attention on to the woman.

"You can say something like that…more of because of pain in the neck." She muttered the last part to herself.

"Well then, what are we waiting for then." Master Canaan spoke before turning to serve as their guide and made their way into the home.

4444

"Aikka," Eva called her husband's name from her now upright position, "Yes, Eva what is it?"

"What do we know about Natalie?" Eva asked out of the blue which caught Aikka off-guard.

"Why do you ask this? You can't trust Natalie with our kids?" Aikka inquired about where his wife goes off suspecting Natalie.

"I am just curious, she doesn't share to much of her past with us and for your last question…without a doubt I trust her." Eva asked slightly offended at the question that her husband had just her.

"Maybe because it's probably something she doesn't want to talk about with us and I don't blame her." Aikka answered his wife.

"Is she really Rick's biological daughter?" the question that was itching in the back of her head was brought forth.

Aikka shrugged his shoulders, "If he claim that is his daughter than I believe him but since you are so curious why don't you ask him yourself?"

Eva shifted on the bed when the weight of her heavy belly caught her off-guard, "Yeah as soon as I can get me some wheels then we can go."

4444

"Ah this brings back some good memories." Minato stated after taking a seat where they could see the little children warming up with stretches.

"It should. Nothing change much except for some minor alterations to the house but other than that nothing has change." Canaan answered when he brought out three steaming cups of tea on a brown circular dish.

"So Master Canaan, what is it that you exactly teach?" Natalie asked when he placed a cup in front of her and then in front of Minato and last for him.

"Archery and basic survival skills." He answered before blowing on his cup of tea to cool it down.

"After all it is the popular thing to learn among the people here. I am sure some of your men know a little about archery in your ranks." Canaan stated when he took a small sip of his drink.

'_Now that he mention it, I do see some of them shooting with a bow and an arrow.' _Natalie thought as she recalled an incident where her men were gambling with bows and arrows.

"Since archery can be used to improve one's ability to focus on a point and take down the enemy instead of wasting ammunition when they are not hitting anything, its quite the useful skill to have as a warrior." Minato statement brought her out of her current thoughts when he took a sip of the tea.

'_Improves one's ability to focus huh?' _she thought when she looked down at her tea before bringing it to her lips to drink.

"Is it to your fancy?" Canaan asked when he saw her initial reaction to drinking the tea, "It's actually quite good, thank you."

"I know this question may be a little stupid but did you teach King Aikka as well?" Natalie inquired about the King and who he gain his knowledge and love for archery from.

"Yes, I did actually along with a much younger and hostile Minato at the time." Canaan answered when she looked at Minato and could not think of him being hostile.

"You were hostile?" she asked out of disbelief, which brought a small smile on Minato's face, "I say I was more of a rule breaker."

"It's good to see that I was able to instill some discipline in him either that or he would have not came across Namikaze." Canaan mentions the other master that Minato had referred to from earlier with the flowers.

Natalie took another sip of her tea drinking it till it was halfway when a thought came to her head, "Master Canaan I would like to ask a favor of you."

"Sure what is it, Ms. Natalie?" he asked when she took another sip of her tea.

"I would like to….


	15. All About Natalie II

"I would like to try and shoot one of your targets? Will you allow me to do this?" Natalie asked with a serious look on her face.

Master Canaan had a feeling she might ask him to do that since him and Minato spoke so highly of Archery.

"I do not see anything wrong with it at all. I'll have one of my servants set something up for you. Minato aren't your curious to see if she will make it?" Canaan asked Minato who just so happen to place the cup of tea near his lips.

He merely nodded his head a yes, after they noticed that the kids had finished properly stretching and were waiting for Master Canaan to inform them of what they were going to do today.

"First of all good morning, today you are going to practice your grip on your bows and arrows." He greeted them first before allowing them to retrieve their bows.

"Ms. Natalie, you can pick up one of them, it seems as if we do not have that many students attending today." Canaan instructed Natalie, who made her way over to pick up the bow that laid by itself.

"How do you think she will do?" Canaan inquired about Minato's belief on if Natalie could handle a bow and arrow.

"I would not know, sometimes it comes natural for certain people." Minato did not give a straightforward answer when his servant confirmed that the target was ready.

"Natalie, I would like for you to stand right here and the target should be within your sights." Canaan informed her when he pointed in front of him.

She took her place a couple of inches in front of Canaan when her eyes focused in on the target. "I see the target."

"Good, then take aim and fire whenever you are ready." Canaan gave her, her last set of orders.

Unknown to the pair, Natalie's eyes had closed and reopen when a black box was in her lower right retina, _'Target distance: 15 feet from current location, Angle of bow: 65 degrees, Power: 40% to 42.5%, Direction of Wind: SE, Probability for bull eyes: 99.9%.'_

She brought the bow up to the intended angle and pulled back on the string and released the grip she had on the arrow when a twang was heard.

"Good shot Ms. Natalie, it seems as if you are a natural at shooting." Canaan said complimenting Natalie before he even looked at the target, while she brought the bow down to her leg.

"Isn't that a bull eyes?" Natalie asked him when she turns to see him looking at the target.

'_That's nearly impossible for someone who did not have any training on to properly grip on the arrow and the bow would result in not being able to hit a bull eyes.'_ Canaan and Minato thought of the same thing.

"Yes, it is, are you sure you never had any training dealing with archery, whatsoever?" Canaan asked her when she handed him the bow.

"This is my very first time picking up a bow and arrow but I have seen some of my soldiers practicing." Natalie answered his question with sincere honesty.

"Well my dear you did an amazing job for your first time. You should come back often when you want to shoot targets." Canaan told her when he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you so very much for the offer, Master Canaan." Natalie expressed her gratitude for allowing her to shoot an arrow.

'_Could Natalie be one of those…' _Minato was brought out of his thoughts by his master's voice.

"You should take real good care of this one, she seems as if she maybe able to surpass me one day." Canaan answered when he walked Natalie towards him.

"Oh no, I don't think so." Natalie blushed when she received the compliment.

"Well we do not want to hold you up from your lessons, it was nice to see you again, Master Canaan." Natalie slightly bowed out from underneath his arm.

"Same here," he said before waving them off with a content smile and amazement for what he just saw from Natalie.

0000

Rick heard someone knocking at his door, when he verbally told them to come in, "Ah, Aikka and Eva, what brings you to my office?"

Aikka closed the door behind his wife before pushing her in front of his desk while taking a seat as well.

"I would like to know more about Natalie?" Eva asked right off the back while showing her straightforward personality.

"In more about Natalie, what exactly are you asking me to tell you?" Rick inquired when he placed another report out of the King and Queen's sight.

"Since, we are considering Natalie to be our representative for Noursaia in the Oban races, we need to know a little about her past?" Eva answered his question with another one.

Rick leaned forward until his elbows were on his desk when he asked Eva "Is that an excuse for your curiosity on Natalie?"

"It is both my concern and my curiosity, if it was neither than we would not be having this conversation right now, would we?" Eva sounded more as if she was negotiating on her terms rather than Rick's.

"Alright, little mouse, you win." Rick answer while leaning back in his chair and cleared his throat.

"Natalie is my foster daughter but I treat her like my own. I adopted her when she was around eight years old but before I got her the orphanage informed me on her history and how she ended up there." Rick started his story off.

"She was supposedly the daughter of the Dame Juno Andros and his wife. When she was about to turn five years old on her birthday, a fire that was rumor to have been started by one of his mistress who grew visible upset when she saw that he had a happy family life with her in it. The fire spread rapidly throughout the house that a servant of theirs manage to get Natalie out of the house." Rick continued with the story of Natalie's past.

"So what happened the next three years before you adopted her?" Eva asked while following a mental time line that Rick gave her.

"She was placed in an institute that worked alongside with the orphanage. When I went there it was run very structurally and smoothly, Natalie was off somewhere in a corner writing something on a piece of paper while staring out of the window." Rick answered her question.

"So after that nothing else strange happen to her?" Eva asked as Natalie's behavior around Jordan was making sense to her now.

"It was a little hard for her to play with the kids since she was so use to following a schedule but once I broke her out of that, she was a regular teenage girl." Rick answered when a thought past through his head.

"I see why she was so upset when Jordan probably saw those images when he touched her. Maybe she had forced herself to forget about it…Jordan is so going to die now." Eva stated with a new resolve when she looked towards her husband.

"Eva…no you can't kill Jordan, the universe needs him…_unfortunately._" Aikka attempted to calm his wife down but his irritation for the Avatar was apparent.

"I am not surprised that it has gotten that bad, he always had a knack for being like that." Rick knew he had to calm the situation down or the King and Queen might have blood on their hands.

"Well thank you for telling us about Natalie, we appreciate it greatly, Aikka let's go back." Eva ordered her husband who complied with her order.

"No problem, just don't show it too much, she hates sympathy about her past with a passion." Rick warned them since he knew all to well how Natalie acts when it comes to her past.

"Will do." Aikka and Eva answered before he pushed his wife out of the room.

'_So those are the images I saw when I touch her…it is starting to make sense.' _Jordan thought to himself after overhearing just the part of Natalie's past and not the warning from Rick.

'_I will finally have you to myself instead of whoever that guy is.' _He thought while making his way on the other side of the castle.

0000

"Are you alright, you look a little tired?" Minato asked after hearing her sigh for the umpteenth time while they were making their way up towards the front gate.

"I am fine, it is just that I have a lot on my plate at the moment, if you will excuse me," Natalie said just before they stepped onto the stone walkway of the castle and turned and walked away from him.

'_I wonder what has been bothering her lately?' _Minato thought when he decided that he needed to talk to Rick.

"Hey, have you seen where Natalie went off to?" the Avatar inquired about the location of Natalie when Minato nearly ran into him when he turned the corner.

Minato instantly put his guard up whenever he was around the Avatar after seeing him upset Natalie to the point where she punched a boulder in half.

"No, she just left." Minato answered, before making his way past him so he could avoid any of his other persistent questions about Natalie's location.

'_If you won't tell me than I will have to find her myself.' _Jordan thought as he made his way down the same hall that Natalie had previously walked on.

0000

'_I should have asked the little mouse, why was she suddenly so interested about her past.' _Rick thought when he placed the binding back on the papers that he scanned through after the queen and king left.

Another knock came at his door before Minato popped his head in when Rick waved his hand for him to come in.

"What is it that you want to talk about?" Rick inquired about his visit when he took a seat in front of him.

"Do you know that project where they used human kids and tried to mold them into being tiny toy soldiers?" Minato asked about his knowledge on the subject.

"I am actually, were they put the kids through intense and rigorous military militia programs? " Rick asked.

Minato nodded his head a yes when he asked, "What did you find out about their programs? Did they try and turn kids into super soldiers?"

"They are not super soldiers however, it is more as if they have a chip in their head to control their movements so that they suddenly have an increase capacity of injecting all of the codes which unlocks their five senses." Rick answered his question when Minato produced a piece of paper.

"It seems as if the higher ups have assigned you to another mission along with the investigation of the strange excursions that surrounded a possible stalker for King Aikka and Queen Eva, however you may find this mission a little more personal." Minato informed as well as warn him before his eyes fell on the paper.

"So there are five suspects in this matter? How are we going to be able to test to see if they are positive for the chip? The only way that is possible is if there is a war that is going on." Rick answered after reading the mission orders.

"There are claims that there are others ways in finding out, but this mission comes along with your previous mission and can be withheld as long as you need it…but it has to be done." Minato replied.

"Well it looks as if I have no other choice but to accept this but our first mission is our primary concern and if needs or clues of this matter pops up we will take it into consideration." Rick spoke with an authoritive tone.

0000

Natalie found herself staring at the sky when she noticed that there was barely a cloud in the sky, _'Maybe I need to take a break…'_

She was deep in thought that she did not hear Jordan approach her, "Natalie,"

Natalie heard someone call her name when she turned to her right to see that the Avatar was standing next to her.

"What do you want?" She asked when she wondered why he would even try and have a conversation with her. _'How come I did not see or even hear him coming up to me?'_

"You know I always wondered why people act the way they do, and you have help me find the answer." He started, as his face was unreadable.

Natalie crossed her arms since she felt like they had this conversation already but decided to follow along since she did not feel like arguing.

"So are you going to tell me how I helped you find the answer to your question?" She asked with irritation along in her tone.

Natalie saw him wag his index finger at her, "Not yet, after all this is the longest that we ever had a _civil_ conversation."

'_What does he have up his sleeve?' _She thought as the conversation was becoming pointless.

"I learned that people put up a wall because of something that has happen to them in their past." Jordan stated.

"And?"

"I believe that applies to you." Jordan answered her question when he saw her bearing a hole in him now, "Explain?"

"Well when children are at the age of children and when they see things let's just use for an explain a fire and people who they care about are hurt and are not coming back is painful. So painful that for the next years that they don't speak to anyone while having to follow people guidelines and instructions."

He felt a stinging sensation on his cheek when he saw her walking away and out of the castle.


	16. Abdicated Post

He felt a stinging sensation on his cheek when he saw her walking away and out of the castle's ground.

'_I wonder what I did wrong?' _he thought, as he was unaware that Princess Mai saw the whole thing that happened between Natalie and the Avatar.

'_What kind of Avatar is he?' _Mai thought when she could feel disgust unsettling her stomach causing it to churn.

The morning rolled over to the afternoon when Eva felt like the castle was too quiet especially since Natalie brought the twins back from Master Canaan's lessons.

"Mommy, look what Minato gave me earlier." Kiera ran towards her mother when she rolled past where the twins were playing.

"That is a pretty daisy that you have there." Eva said while she ran her fingers over the white petals of the daisy.

"Kieran gave Natalie some flowers too and she put them in her hair just like I did." Kiera mentioned Natalie's name.

'_I knew it was too quiet…' _she thought after hearing the woman's name from her little daughter's mouth.

"So what did you two do when you went to Master Canaan's training session?" Eva asked her kids on how their lessons went.

Kieran had stop messing with whatever it was that was behind a bush to answer his mother's question, "We just worked on how to hold the bow and arrow."

"Oh yeah, you remember seeing Natalie hitting the bulls eye? She was awesome, you should have seen her mom." Kiera gloated on the older woman's accomplishments.

"I never knew Natalie knew about archery?" she said more to herself when she saw Jordan moving towards their location.

"Eva and kids, how are you doing today?" Jordan greeted them or rather Eva politely when he approached.

"Wonderful but have you seen Natalie?" Eva asked, while she looked at his face for any signs of a reaction but none every came.

"Remember that she had threatened me not to come near her, if I did then she would have had my head." Jordan reminded Eva of what happen between him and Natalie.

"It never left my mind but the kids said she dropped them off and left. I was just wondering where she could have gone." Eva explained why she asked him about Natalie.

"Seems as if that is your motherhood nurturing skills kicking in that's all." He said when he saw the twins playing with each other.

Eva cut her eyes back to Jordan before focusing back on her kids, "Yeah, if you say so. You two we are going to go find your father."

As if they were robots the twins cease what they were doing and aided their mother by wheeling her down the hallway and ultimately away from Jordan.

He raised his hand to his cheek and felt that it still stung a little bit, _'It was as if I got hit by a hammer.' _

0000

Natalie found herself walking back to her captain corridors were she half-hearted greeted her subordinates with salutes and positive greetings.

'_I don't feel like going back to that castle as long as that Avatar is there.' _ She thought to herself when she just wanted to lock herself in her office.

"Captain Natalie, I am surprised to see you here, I thought they had you on security details at the castle?" one of her subordinates asked her before she made it to the confinements of her office.

"Yes, actually I am here to collect a few things that will aid the security please forward the information to the Command Sergeant Major." Natalie ordered as she half lied with the latter part being standard procedure when she did not feel like doing work.

"In addition to that direct all contacts to them, since I won't be in after this for some weeks." Natalie added in the lie she just told to the pile.

"Yes ma'am." He saluted her until she copied the move and dropped hers first before the man left.

'_At least nothing has change too much around her.' _She thought as some type of relief ran through her when she saw her office the same, as it was when she left it.

'_I wonder how long will I be able to stay here before someone realize I am gone? Will they ever notice that I am gone?' _thoughts like those were going through her head before she shut and locked the door.

She noticed that she still had some papers that she left before temporarily leaving for the castle and the concern for the King and Queen's safety.

'_At least I won't be bothered while I am here.'_ She thought while taking her seat behind her desk and began to work on the small stack of papers that sat on her desk.

0000

"Aikka!" "Daddy!" were the sounds of Eva and her little kids when they entered Aikka's study to see that he was talking to Princess Mai.

"I'll be out in a minute, we are almost finished up here." Aikka stated when they realized that they interrupted a conversation between the two along with Minato's presence there.

Eva felt a sigh of relief escape her mouth when she saw that Aikka was not alone in the room with Mai.

"It's okay we can finish up for now, I am actually kind of hungry." Mai suddenly spoke up seemingly unaware that Eva and the kids came in.

"The chief is always on duty and so all you have to do is tell them what you want to eat and they will cook it for you." Aikka informed Mai before she left his private study.

"Thank you for the help," Mai thanked him before she walked pass Eva and their kids with a small smile on her face.

"Hey," He said to his wife before placing a kiss on her forehead and messing around with the kids.

"It looks as if it was intense in there, your brows are furrowing." Eva joked when she could tell the signs of being tired on his face.

"No, not at all actually since Minato aid by lighting the load on me but other than that it went quite smooth." Aikka reassured his wife after rubbing the front of his forehead.

"Good because we were going to come and get you for a day out of the castle." Eva responded to her husband's actions.

A smile was placed on his face, "I would like that, and so did you two enjoy your day with Master Canaan?"

"Mhm, Natalie made a bulls eye, it was incredible!" Kiera repeated the same thing she told her mother earlier when they were in the courtyard.

"I did not know Natalie knew archery, maybe I should ask her, do you know where she is?" He asked to no one in particular.

"She did walk us home but I do not know if she came in the castle with us." Kieran answered his father's question when he remembered seeing Natalie leave.

Minato had a feeling that something wasn't right when he heard Prince Kieran's answer to his father's question. "Has anyone seen Natalie? I would like to tell her something."

"Well then she can't ignore a King's summoning so I will go and locate her." Minato spoke up after hearing the King ask his wife and kids where was Natalie.

"Thank you Minato, that would be a wonderful idea." Eva answered before signaling for her kids to aid her in pushing the wheelchair through the castle.

"When you find her, have her report to our room, I just want to relay the information that Princess Mai gave us and I wanted her to see if her background aligns with her problem." Aikka spoke in a whispered tone so his wife and kids would not hear their conversation.

"Yes, sir," Minato slightly bowed his head to show his respect before making his way out of the study.

'_I wonder why Princess Mai would surface around this time and then ask for permission from her kingdom to visit me and obtain nothing but advice?' _Aikka thought before deciding to catch up with the rest of his family.

0000

'_Well I wonder where could this piece of clothe could come from? Was it a male or a female? Is it from a shirt, skirt, or what could it be?_'

Three rasps came at the door, which brought Rick out of his thoughts before stashing away the piece in his pocket. "Come in."

He noticed that Minato had a rather serious look on his face when he entered the room and made sure to check his surroundings before closing the door.

"From the look on your face you must have spotted something wrong, what is it?" Rick asked while seating up from his lounging position.

"Did Natalie report in to you at all today?" Minato asked making sure to note if Rick was holding anything from him.

"Matter of fact, no, she did not and that is not likes her whatsoever. Why do you ask that question?" Rick inquired about the purpose of Minato's visit.

"King Aikka wanted me to relay the details of the meeting between him and Princess Mai on to her and just wanted to make sure everything checks out." Minato did not hesitate to answer the question.

Minato saw Rick raise his eyebrow before leaning back in his chair, "So I guess Natalie would want me to assume that when Princess Mai first arrive why she was so persistent in checking her belongings and that's when it blew up." Rick asked as he remembers what happen when Mai first arrived.

"When? What blew up?" Minato inquired into the situation after hearing Rick's choose of words.

"I would not say blow up but rather the tension between her and the Avatar started to spike after he had invaded her private thoughts and some things that Natalie had been harboring to herself. So the Avatar hounded her to find the answer and nearly led her to having his head remove from his shoulders." Rick explained in further details about the fight between the two.

"So you are telling me that Natalie was willing to harm a galactic official off of the pretenses of him invading her privacy?" Minato asked when a thought ran through his head.

'_I can understand, after seeing her release her anger on that boulder I am sure that the Avatar would no longer have a head._'

"Look, I think she may have left the castle grounds to keep her head cleared. She will mostly like pop up around after a night's rest and some quality thinking time." Rick answered in a tone that shows he had experience this with Natalie before.

"So you are going to allow her to abandon her post? It's not an issue to me if it will allow us to stay in the guidelines of galactic officials but I won't hesitate to point that out to the Avatar as well." Minato answered when he rose to his feet.

"You mean Jordan? That boy never grows up. He stills does his childish pranks. Just kept a keen eye on him because he is a tricky one." Rick forewarned Minato since he already knows that Minato wanted to solve the problem himself.

The blonde haired man nodded his head before turning on his heels and exited the office of Rick.

'_I just hope whatever Natalie is doing she is alright, I know how she gets when she doesn't have her way.' _He thought when he turned around in his chair.

0000

'_Who would have thought that I would be back here this soon?' _Natalie thought after hearing the sound of the lock on her door lock.

She looked around to see that barely anything changed in her office except for the fact that she had dust collecting in her room.

'_Well this will give me something to do for a while.' _Natalie thought before she began to search for the duster in her office.

'_I wonder if they would notice that I am missing?' _she thought before remembering the presence of Minato diminished her thought.

'_After all he is one of the noble knights men…ugh…_' Her frustration was event when she brought her fist to her desk.

The duster rolled its way from under the desk due to the force of the blow she landed on the poor table.

Natalie decided to clear her thoughts of Minato and of course the ever so irritation she has whenever she would see _it._

Releasing a held breath she bent over to pick the aging duster and started off first with her desk.

0000

Minato knew from his previous years in the castle all the ins and outs and even possible hideouts there was but it seemed as if finding Natalie was a different thing.

He was currently in the east wing of the castle where the guests would reside for their temporary stay of less then fifteen days.

'_The first place I can think of her hiding is in her room.' _ He tried to align his mind in the thought process of Natalie.

Minato made his way down the hallway before coming to Natalie's room that had a paper with black writing on it "DO NOT DISTURB"


	17. Feelings of a Runaway

"Do you think Natalie would ignore your summoning?" Eva asked her husband, Aikka, while they made their way to the throne room.

Aikka had a tired look on his face before rubbing his temples with his hand, "If she does not then she has to have a legitimate reason not to come if I called."

Eva took slow strides as the weight of her tummy was growing heavier and heavier by the day, "I just wanted to know if she was alright, that's all."

"Even still she is in charge of the safety of our guest Princess Mai and she can not be left out in the dark about what Minato and I learn from her." Aikka explained the reason why he had issued out the call.

Eva had a sudden feeling of uneasiness about the whole situation, _'I wonder where is she?'_

"Forget all of that, how are you feeling?" Aikka asked his wife when his eyes fell on his wife's bulging stomach.

"Tired, sleepy and bloated, the regular for pregnancy." Eva answered with a smile on her face, which appeared on her husband's face as well.

"Well that sounds as if you are doing good then, we are here." Aikka announced to his wife before opening the door wide enough for her to enter before closing it back.

0000

"Do you think we should tell mommy and daddy about what we saw?" Kiera asked her twin brother Kieran while they sat in their father's study.

"We don't have any evidence yet," Kieran answered while spinning around in their father's chair.

"I mean they should believe what we say. I mean we hardly ever lie to them and it's the truth." Kiera presented her side of the problem.

Kieran stop spinning in order to face his twin, "I don't mean to bring this back up but right now since you attack Morose our parents' trust dropped in us."

Kiera sat back quietly as if reminded of a past deed, she let out a held breath, "You right, I almost forgot, but do you think mommy would be able to trust me again?"

"She will but for now we need to keep a look out on that woman, name Princess Mai." Kieran redirected their attention back to the subject at hand.

"I agree, she is a shady character like the Avatar is. Do you think we should watch him to?" Kiera brought up Jordan and his latest actions.

"From seeing how upset he made Natalie, then I think we should keep an eye on him but we would want to keep a closer eye on Princess Mai." Kieran answered.

"Alright then it is a deal," Kiera leaned over and hooked her pinkie finger with her twin's pinkie finger.

0000

Minato found the door surprisingly unlocked and pushed it open while bracing himself for what could happen when he opened it all the way.

"Hey, Natalie?" he called out for her but there was no answer just the sound of the open window hitting against the wall with the curtain blowing in the wind.

There was no answer whatsoever when he inched his way towards the bathroom incase someone may have gotten the jump on her.

'_She is not here either.' _ He thought after giving a full sweep of the room before coming to that conclusion after he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword.

'_If she is not here then where could she be? Maybe I should inform Rick about this.' _Minato thought to himself before making his way towards the exit and closed the door behind him.

When he emerged from Natalie's assigned room, he saw the Avatar wondering down the hallway as if he was a lost puppy looking for a new master.

'_It seems as if everywhere I go he follows? Why does he constantly follow Natalie when he knows that she does not want him around?'_

"It seems as if you have a lot of things on your mind, do you think I could be of some aid for you?" Jordan asked, since he wanted to know why was he coming from Natalie's room.

"I guess you can say when you live an active life in politics you tend to have a lot on your mind. You would not mind if I assume that you have the same moments when you visit the many galaxies under your watch?" Minato answered after he skirted around answering Jordan's question.

Jordan was inwardly taken aback by the blonde haired male's rebuttal when he decided that he had to be careful around this one.

"You are correct, did you just come from chatting to Natalie? How is she feeling?" Jordan asked as he wondered what was his real purpose for visiting Natalie.

'_Is he that obsessed with her to the point that he would be considered a stalker? What is wrong with the Avatar?' _Minato had questions running through his head while processing the conversation he was having at the moment with the Avatar.

"It seems as if I was a little too late for Ms. Natalie. Quite frankly I do not know where she went but knowing Sir Rick, he would more than likely put me in charge of the location process of Natalie." Minato answered with an honest answer.

"When you are gathering please do not hesitate to call me so I can aid. It seems as if I have taken a liking to the strong will of Ms. Natalie." Jordan downright admitted to the man in front of him about his interest in Natalie.

'_He can not be serious could he? Wait, he has the power to find anyone or anything in the world so why he does not he use his powers to locate her?' _

"Well since you have taken an interest in Ms. Natalie then you would not mind if we ask for your help in aiding us to locate her would you?" Minato answered, as he made sure not to make any sudden noise or movement.

The Avatar nodded his head to show that he would be willing to contribute to the cause. "That is reassuring to know that we have the Avatar backing on this one, this will most definitely increase our chances in finding her."

Minato use that as parting words among the men unaware that Princess Mai, who was in her room could hear the entire conversation.

'_So typical of men to show who has the bigger chest when it comes down to the simply fact that they both have taken a likening to Ms. Natalie.' _Mai thought to herself before removing herself from her door and onto the bed.

'_It's really such a beautiful day today…I think I would hold off the invasion until I leave this hideous kingdom.' _She thought as the wind from her open window blew her hair away from her face.

Mai let out a sigh before placing her right hand towards her ear so her hair would not blow back towards her face.

0000

"Am I hearing this correctly, Minato. You said that Natalie is no longer on the castle area or in her bedroom?" Rick inquired after hearing Minato's report.

"Yes, she is nowhere around for her king's summoning and you know that has to be documented." Minato reminded his superior of the actions that must be done.

"Don't you think I know this? I am not surprised that she distanced herself away from the problem as she would often do when she was a teenager." Rick muttered to himself about Natalie's behavior.

"So you are saying that you are use to her running away from her responsibilities if she feels that she can not complete them?" Minato asked trying to clear up some confusion from Rick's statement. _'That would explain her behaviors from when she was little.' _

"Yes, Natalie would never get into a fight because she would lock herself in this tree house that I had built for her when she was little. You remember that don't you since she would run from you when you would visit. Yet, she never missed a day of school, she just never appeared in the house." Rick answered Minato's inquires. _'Now I remember...' _

Minato was pacing back and forth as a normal person would but inwardly he had a thousand questions circulating though his head.

"How long would she be gone?" Minato asked as he hoped that the time length of her departure would not put a hindrance in their investigation on the attacks of the King and Queen.

"So you said that Jordan has offered his help in the search for Natale?" Rick asked with his mouth behind his interlaced hands.

"Yes, he has offered his _full_ help since he has taken a liking to Natalie's strong personality. Would you believe that?" Minato expressed his disbelief in what he had told him.

"Trust me he would help besides I know the kid and I have taken the precautions already after Natalie explained her extreme disdain for the galactic figurehead." Rick offered a validated excuse for Natalie.

Minato shifted his weight, "As a witness to a previous encounter with the two parties then I can understand the delay but if you have any idea where she could be I need to know."

"I promise you that and thanks for the brief window but moving beyond this point are there any leads that you have found on the case?"

Minato simply maneuvered his head in a manner that mad it hard to read, "I have a suspicious that our two guests that are temporary residing with us are prime candidates."

"Do you have evidence or is it because Jordan rubbed you the wrong way?" Rick asked since he had a feeling that Jordan presence had to be lurking somewhere.

"More like classifying him as a stalker rather then focusing on the well being of the others that is under his care." Minato stated the obvious towards Rick, who merely nodded his head with his statement.

"Look, I want you to go out and clear your head and try to find out where Natalie ran off to." Rick shifted the topic of the conversation.

0000

'_I wonder what time it is?' _Natalie thought after taking a seat behind her desk before propping her feet on her desk while leaning back in her chair.

Another sigh emitted from her mouth while intertwining her hands and placed it behind her head to support her neck.

'_Well I at least got some cleaning done.' _She thought as she scanned the room and admired her hard work.

The mounds of dust that piled up in her vacant office were huge that she had bags of it in the corner ready for take out.

'_I never thought that just a couple of weeks away from this desk that it would be this awful.' _She thought as she removed her feet from her desk and pushed herself closer to the desk.

'_This is where I got the assignment that I was going to be watching over Princess Mai.' _Natalie leaned her upper body a little way so that she had a hump in her back.

It was this very same desk where she had to enlist soldiers into her battalion and give certain soldiers a much needed promotion.'She had a small smile on her face as she remember the good times at the desk.

She ran her hand up and down a small crack when she remember that, she had gotten so anger after coming from an annual review where Minato was given praise for his continuous success for his battalion that she just had to hit something unfortunately for the desk it was the best thing in sight."Why would we waste our time that was supposed to be for our annual review that ended up into a praise session for the blonde haired bimbo! They make me sick for doing that!" Natalie had brought her closed fist against the hard surface.

'This is where I had to make grievances calls to significant others and family members, who pleaded not to hear the awful truth and I had to be the bearer of the bad news…' she thought to herself.

The lost of her first man under her leadership was still a shock to her but seemed to have settled among the more experienced fighters than her.

"Captain Natalie, as the new figurehead of this battalion it is one of your duties to inform the families of the ones that were killed in battle or missing in action. That is all."

Natalie knew that sooner or later she was going to be approach by her superiors about that issue, '_How do I address those people that lost someone close to them?_'

After inhaling she picked up the phone and precede to dial the first number on her list, the instant the receiving end picked up she hung up.

'_This is where I first cried like a newborn baby…' _she said after moving her hand across the surface of the desk.

'_Man this thing has been with me through thick and thin and to think I did not want this desk that daddy gave me.' _ Natalie brought the side of her face on the dark colored teak desk.

A beeping noise brought her out of her thoughts when she looked up to see that it was coming from her laptop that sat on the far left side of the desk.

'_Wow I have a lot of mail…' _her thought trailed off when she realized that there were messages from her superiors regarding paper work that should have been handle by the Sergeant Major that she left in charge on her absence.

'_Well it seems as if I have something to keep me busy for tomorrow. Wait what is this?' _Natalie scrolled the white arrow over to an email that was addressed to her with no subject.

Natalie covered her hand over her mouth when she realized what she saw.

0000

The afternoon rolled over into the nighttime, as the castle seemed to be mundane rather than lively as it usually does.

"I hope she know that she can no longer run. I think its about time to that we move in."


	18. Dangerous Thoughts

Mai made a move towards the open window once she no longer felt the breeze blowing her hair backwards.

She looked out the window and observed the twins chasing after one another, _'I would be sad to see all the children suffer from the Krogs invasion but it is bound to happen.' _

"Is she looking at us?" Kiera inquired when her twin accidentally tripped himself on purpose when he noticed that Princess Mai was looking at them.

Kieran sat up while nodding his head a yes before Kiera leaned over and helped her brother up.

"What do you think she is thinking about?" Kiera asked her twin after helping him back to his feet.

Kieran shrugged his shoulders before giving his sister the signal to hold out of sight from the woman in the window.

'_Well I wonder how would they act when they see me as their stepmother? I think it would be a nice fit for them.' _Mai thought before bringing her hands to the ends of the window before closing it shut.

"She closed the window." Kieran said loud enough for only his twin to hear him.

"Alright then it is time to go to the east wing so we can see what she is up to." Kiera issued out the next step to their plans.

Kieran physical nodded his head before the pair made their way inside of the castle without being caught by Mai from the window.

0000

Minato knew that the absence of Natalie could put a serious dent in their security detail for the castle and both a guest and a galactic figurehead present made it difficult.

Yet there was something nagging at the back of his head about the arrival of Princess Mai and the Avatar.

'_Not only that but they both have eccentric attitudes. What are Princess Mai's true intentions on the problems of her kingdom? Why is the Avatar still here when he needs to take care of other planets?' _

Then there was the incident where he had to play referee and witness to Natalie in the preliminary stage of her anger, which ended up in the shattering of a boulder.

'_She really wanted to harm him but she stayed within her military boundaries and took out on something us.' _ He thought while enjoying the breeze that the wind offered.

'_Yet there is a possibility that she could be non-human.' _Minato thought back to the encounter when he checked Natalie's hand to see not a single mark on her hand.

Then there was the time where she had picked up the bow and arrow for the first and claim to be having no knowledge of how to wield the weapon. However she handled it as if she had experience with it.

'_She could have picked it up by watching her men whenever they had their free time.' _ He thought to himself before his eyes fell on the people that walked outside of the palace.

'_If Sir Rick says she is going to come back then she is. If not by the second day then I will have to visit her captain quarters.' _Minato did not know how dead on he was about his suspicious was on where Natalie's location.

'_Where did you run off to?' _ He thought before bringing his eyes towards the semi-cloudy day.

0000

"I can not believe you threw this together for me." Eva whispered to her husband before having someone handed her another bag of diapers.

There was a line of people that waited for their time with the two of them but solely to bestow gifts upon Eva and her soon to be born infants.

"Well it seems as if the citizens are just concern for their queen since she is due to have children soon. My father told me that they did the same thing for me when I was in my mother's stomach and I did it for the twins. Don't you remember?" Aikka informed his wife to his left before another citizen approach them with a gift.

"It must have slipped my mind. You know how I get when I almost due. I tend to forget some things but this is nice." Eva answered her husband question.

"Thank you for the wonderful gift ma'am. I appreciate that you made this for me." Eva thanked the woman, who was her elder by five or so odd years, a crib was rolled in.

"Well we do need another crib, after all we are having three and not two this time." Aikka answered with the same smile he had on his face after receiving the news she was having multiple children.

"You are just enjoying this aren't you?" Eva asked a rhetorical question towards Aikka. He simply responded in laughter at his wife sharp wit.

Eva accepted the gifts that the people of Noursaia had to offer which was what she considered a blessing, after all they did not have to give her any of that stuff.

"If you had this kind of turn out for kids it just might have topped all of our wedding gifts." Aikka stated after the last of the line filed out when his eyes eyed the pile.

"Nope, I think our wedding had more then this but still it was a nice gesture. Thanks I needed it." Eva stated while hugging her husband.

"I mean besides the madness that is going on between Natalie, Jordan, Mai and a newly injected Minato, we do still have to focus on the real issue that is at hand. You are going to give birth to three beautiful children." Aikka reminded her of what was important to him.

"Still is it wrong for me to be concerned with where Natalie ran off to? I mean I think of her as my daughter sometimes and at other times I consider her as a sister." Eva mumbled against her husband chest.

Aikka could not help but to admire the compassion and empathy of others that his wife had which touched him, he brought his hand on top of the crown of her head and rubbed her head gently.

"That's why everyone wanted to give you something nice because you care for others. It is nothing wrong with that " Aikka reassured his wife that he was not mad at her.

"Good. For a minute there, I felt like I was the criminal." Eva stated her opinion of the situation.

"I would say otherwise, it's more that you are the heroine of the whole fiasco." Aikka complimented his wife.

0000

'_No way! How can they make that move without my permission!' _she thought before her hand moved from her mouth and onto the mouse.

The top priority mail that she had received was a hit that was placed on Princess Mai, there was even two pictures; one being a frontal shoot while the other was a side view.

Natalie scrolled down before the information caught her interest, _'She is a fake? What is she?' _

"The woman that is pictured here may call herself Princess Mai from a neighboring kingdom. However this is not the truth, the woman that is pictured here is a trained and highly apt spy. She may be gathering information on leaks and cracks in our system. If you see her do not attack but use another useful tactical strategy."

'_I knew Jordan told me about keeping her in my sights but I would have never thought…that she…could do something to harm the Royal Family.' _ She thought as the nightmare forced her to her feet.

'_I need to go back they are all in trouble! Why did I have to be so stupid and leave them alone with that imposter!"_

When she rounded the table a knock was heard against the door, _'No one should know that I am here except…' _

Natalie heard the door unlock when panic ran through her body while she looked around for a decent hiding spot.

"Are you sure they said she was in here?" a figure with a trench coat, a hat, and sunglasses asked a similarly dress figure.

"It seems as if we were fed with false information, it seems as if we are back to square one with this." The voice answered back.

"Don't you think that we should at least give a once over of the place?" The first voice spoke asked another question.

The two-cloaked figures expeditiously move throughout Natalie's office, often stopping to knock or tap their foot against something to make sure it's not hollow.

The pair shuffled about before one of them stopped at the cabinet with their eyes scanning the awards that were on display.

"Hold this side so none of those things will fall." One of the two instructed the other when the other held on to the glass.

A soft thud was heard when the person jerked the cabinet hard enough before pausing to look at his counterpart.

"Did you bring the tracker with you?" the individual asked after they had moved the cabinet from its original position.

The other lifted the right side of his trench coat up far enough so he can reach for whatever the intended item was asked for.

A gray rectangular device was produced in their hand before pushing a green button and a small pixilated screen appeared when a circular blue shape appeared on the screen.

They then press the green button and then the black button when the screen changed once again and a beeping noise was heard.

'_We got her…' _the thought before squatting to the bottom portion of the cabinet and slide the door to the left.

0000

'_Without Natalie, the security seems to ease up a lot.' _The thought came from none other then the Avatar when he made his way down engraved steps on the side of a mountain.

'_That Minato character really irk my nerves…who is he to come in and upset my poor Natalie like that…' _he thought when he continue to make his way down the now spiraling case of stairs.

'_I wonder why was he coming from Natalie's room?' _Jordan thought back to his conversation with Minato after seeing him emerge from Natalie's room.

"_I guess you can say when you live an active life in politics you tend to have a lot on your mind. You would not mind if I assume that you have the same moments when you visit the many galaxies under your watch?"_

'_He would not have answered that unless he knew the valid reason why I started the conversation with him.' _ Jordan thought of Minato's answer to his question.

'_Yet he knew what to say when I asked him did he come from talking to Natalie. Minato is not a regular person from my observations of him. It was as if he knew how to get under my skin and then diffuse the situation before it escalated.' _He thought.

"_It seems as if I was a little too late for Ms. Natalie. Quite frankly I don't know where she went but knowing Sir Rick, he would more than likely put me in charge of the location process of Natalie."_

"_Well since you have taken an interest in Ms. Natalie then you would not mind if we ask for your help in aiding us to locate her would you?"_

'_He never did lie but rather skillful dodge the answer to my question without signs of hesitation, which means he has been doing that for a while. I thought I was decent in being a con artist seems as if I have met my match.'_

Jordan had arrived at his intended destination when a gentle breeze blew his golden locks away from his face.

He inhaled and exhaled before giving a small stretch before relaxing his muscles and even his breathing with his eyes closed.

'_I swear this place is so relaxing…' _Jordan thought before slowly opening his eyelids before in taking the entire view of his final destination.

'_The Nourasia Priest Water Fountain.' _The name of the quarter passes through his head when he remembers this is where he saw his best friend and potential lover being given away to his rival for marriage.

Feelings of jealousy pass right over his head before feeling the emotion of pure happiness, _'Is there such a thing as pure happiness?'_

Jordan knew this was the only place where evil feelings were eradicated on sight and were swap with the feelings of joy, bliss and sheer delight.

The pool still reflected the crescent moon and the sun within its twin peaks as the sight of it mid-afternoon was decent but at twilight and midnight the image seem to be gorgeous.

A small stone altar was a little ways down the elevation of the pool with another set of stoned steps leading to the altar.

Jordan made his way onto the surface of the water when the sight of his face caught his attention, _'I forgot that I was in my Avatar form.' _

When he closed his eyes and opened them again the sight of his former shell did not seem to be polar opposites from his Avatar and his human form.

'_This would have been the face that Eva would have looked forward to waking up in the morning. The same face that would be the receiver of her kisses, the arms to hold her even when she doesn't want it, the eyes that would look at her until she returned the same look, and the heart that would continuously pour out love and devotion.'_

His hand connected to the water with his image still in his human form, he connects numerous of times before lying on his back with evident frustration.

'_If it wasn't for me then she would not be living the life she had, no Kiera or Kieran, no big castle, no love for others, no love for yourself and definitely no Aikka.' _ He thought before closing his eyes shut and drifted off in his thoughts.


	19. Hidden Revelations

Natalie woke to find that she was in what looked to be an interrogation room, _'Where in the world am I?'_

Her head felt as if she was hit upside the head with a blunt object and rolled her neck until she felt her neck pop from being stiff.

"It is about time that you woke up." A male voice spoke after seeing her minimal movement in the chair.

Her vision was slightly blurred until she blinked till it was clear when she noticed a male with a black fedora, orange round sunglass, pale skin, gray hair, wrinkly face, a black trench coat, pants, boots and gloves.

"Surprisingly you did not put up too much of a resistance, Ms. Andros." The man spoke in what sounded like a mechanical tone.

Natalie found herself able to sit up and moved her arms and hands around, "You actually think we would restrain you? That is not our nature to someone who was birth successful from this program room's."

She adjusted herself so she could get comfortable in the metal chair, "What do you mean I was apart of a program?"

"Well it does seem as if the memory infragmentor worked well on you." The man answered with no signs of joy or remorse in his tone.

"If you don't tell me what is going on here then I will be forced to release my anger out on you." Natalie answered while slamming her fist on the table making a dent.

"Trust me, what I am about to tell you will forever change the way you view your existence on this plane and how you view others. So if I were you, I would do well to control that anger of yours and listen to what I am going to say." The man answered in a tone that was calm never spiked with ire or irritation.

Natalie slowly became quiet until she reached the standard he was looking for before clearing his throat.

The bright white lights surrounding her had died down to a dim before completely cutting off leaving them in semi-darkness before seeing a brighter square shape.

"This picture before you is the group picture of children that we collected from various orphanage and as you can see yours was one of the chosen few." He explained when she noticed that she was in the middle of the crowd of twenty-five kids and there she was with a wide smile evident on her face.

"We initially started you all of with a basic assessment of mental, emotional, and physical means or a basic physical is what we conducted." He informed her after he flipped through about three other pictures showing children working out, doing mental problems and talking to what appeared to be a therapist.

"That was just a kiddie test that we gave to you all, the real test would come in simulations both technological and physical. We did random experiments on each aspect that we could find on you all and pushed those boundaries." The man explained while he showed her pictures with children running military like drills.

"Let me guess, you only had a select few to complete the process and am I to assume that I completed it?" Natalie asked after coming to a conclusion from observing all the pictures that were showed to her.

"Did I forget to mention you excelled in the emotional state, when you are anger your strength increases. Did you notice that?" The man asked before turning off the lit screen and the lights flipped back on.

Natalie thought back to her breaking the boulder with her bare fist when she was irritated with the Avatar.

'_You know you don't have a scratch on your fists?' _she reflected back on when she had that conversation with Minato.

"So what exactly am I?" Natalie asked him while looking at herself as if she was a foreign object with a look of concern on her face.

"You are just a human being whose limits has been remove through rigorous military training that has been installed within you since you were a little child." The man explained to Natalie.

"So you are saying that I am still me except with a few tweaks. I am able to tap into my five senses at a greater rate then any normal person?" Natalie asked since it was starting to make sense now.

"You are displaying your abilities at this very moment. You are able to keep your emotions in check even though you do not have a clue on where you are. You are figuring out about the program that you were apart of by my simple explanations of the pictures." The man responded with his own statement.

Natalie sat back in her seat and found out that the old man was right. She was not scared whatsoever as if she knew that he could not harm her no matter how hard he could, she still probably would not flinch but there still was some lingering suspicious about the man sitting in front of her.

"So why were you after me?" Natalie inquired as that question was burning in the back of her head ever since she saw the pictures and their sudden intrusion on her personal space.

0000

"Do you think that Minato would listen to us?" Kiera proposed to her twin brother when they sat across from one another.

"I do not know maybe we need more solid proof on what that woman is doing." Kieran gave his opinion of the situation.

"This whole quiet process is driving me nuts. Why don't we just tell mommy what we know and see what she says from that?" Kiera proposed since she was slightly becoming agitated with the waiting process.

"Look, what we are doing takes time but for now we will not have to worry about it because that woman is going to slip up and we are going to expose her for whoever she is." Kieran suggested to his sister.

"Well if your plan does not work then maybe we should do what I said. Do we have a deal?' Kiera asked, since she knew that he had no other choice but to agree.

"Alright then we have a deal…. wait shush here comes Minato…" Kieran warned his twin when they decided to change the subject instead.

"Hey you two, have you seen Natalie around?" Minato greeted them politely before asking them about the presence of Natalie.

The twins cut their eyes towards each other before giving him a weird look on their faces before turning to look at Minato's face.

"What is it with those weird faces you two?" Minato asked them when he had set himself up for their trap.

"It seems as if you are always asking where she is?" Kieran asked before hearing Kieran chime in "Do you like her or something?"

"Eh?" Minato was taking aback by the twins' accusations and was unaware that his cheeks were slightly pink.

"We knew it." The twins giggled at their prank and the result of it.

"What are you guys talking about?" Minato answered in a rushed tone to where the twins barely heard the question.

"I believe we found our answer. Would you agree with me sister?" Kieran asked his twin.

"I would have to agree with you. He is always somewhere near her and he treats her better than that Avatar character does." Kiera answered her brother's question.

'_I swear those two always have something up there sleeves with their pranks. I almost forgot who I was talking to for a minute…' _

"Just let me know if you have seen or heard anything suspicious that may seem out of place in the castle, okay? I want you two to tell me as quickly as possible." Minato's tone grew quite serious with them.

The twins looked at each other before turning back to face Minato with smiles and nodded their heads simultaneously showing that they agreed with the plan.

Minato soon released a deep sigh; "I swear you two cause me so much grief anyway I am glad that you can help. You two will be a big help."

0000

"Is there anything else that you would want to do for the rest of the day?" Aikka asked his wife once they made it to their private bedroom.

Eva stifled a yawn, "I do not know. I am sleepy though." Eva answered while rubbing her huge stomach.

"Is that a smile that I see?" Aikka teased his wife since he knew that she still was not over the news she received at the doctor.

He heard his wife sigh heavily before stopping her motions with her hand across her stomach, "All I know is that I am going to be in some serious pain when it is time for me to deliver them into this world."

"Then after you have these three we can take a break, how does that sound?" Aikka asked his wife.

"More like I am going to take a break but it sounds good. I do not know if I can last with three…we already had problems with the twins when they were growing up." Eva answered her husband's question with a smile on her face.

"Those two use to stay in trouble or was the source of it. I remember when they gave the nannies madness. It took a day with my father and mother to straight them out." Aikka stated while laughing at the end of his statement.

"I know that if we can raise them how we did Kieran and Kiera." Eva expressed her doubts in her motherhood as well as her parenting skills.

Aikka looked at the sad look that was evident on his wife's face after hearing her doubts and worries about the future pregnancy.

That was when it hit him, "Do you have any idea what we are going to name them?" He asked his wife.

"Of course I do have names for them. I mean Kieran and Kiera makes up the two k's in your name right?" she inquired to her husband.

He nodded his head to show he was agreeing to what his wife asked him, "So you are planning to name them with two A's and a I?"

"Of course, I am not sure if I want to do it how I did Kieran and Kiera maybe something like Adeline, Adele and Ian. How does that sound to you?" Eva asked her husband while looking at his face for his initial feelings.

"Adeline, Ian, Kieran, Kiera and Adele. A…i…k…k…a. I really like that." Aikka claim with his closed and wide smile on his face.

He felt his wife gently hit upside the head, "Of course you would. It is not everyday that you have your children spell out your initials. You are such a lucky father and husband."

"If not you would not even be sitting next to me but anyway I did not expect to get this big." Eva joked earning a laugh from Aikka.

"Me either." He agreed with his Eva before placing his ear against her round tummy while she rested her hands on the opposite ear.

0000

Jordan opened his eyes and found that he was no longer looking at the now orange colored sky of Noursaia but rather a blurry version of it.

"_I must have sunk into the waters of the fountain."_ He spoke and was not surprised to see that he could speak and breath under this water.

'_I almost forgot that this place was connected to me…' _Jordan thought to himself when he shifted his body so that he was no longer falling on his back but rather on his feet.

'_I really want to know what Natalie is thinking about? Is she thinking about me?' _he thought as he decided to hone in onto Natalie's brainwaves.

Meanwhile with Natalie, _'Why does it feel as if someone is trying to call out to me?' _she thought inwardly before closing her eyes to listen to the voice in her head.

"Natalie, are you alright?" The male asked in front of her until he saw her hold up her index finger signaling to him to give her a minute.

"I heard someone's voice in my head. I do not know what or who is calling me but it sounds urgent?" Natalie told him in a roundabout manner on what was going on in her head.

"It is possible for someone to tap into your brainwaves more specially your quantum brainwaves which provides for telepathically messaging, so someone has tapped into your antenna basically."

'_I wonder if it is Minato trying to contact me on the information that he had found out.' _She thought but the voce that was calling out to her was different from his normal voice.

Back with Jordan, _'As I thought she is thinking of Minato. Why would I even bother contacting her after all…I treated her so awfully.'_

He remembers the first reaction he had when he saw Natalie, _'She was beautiful. She had her Captain's battle gear on that seemed to suit her style and qualities.' _

Yet his nature told him not to agree with what he saw and simply pushed it to the back of his head but sooner or later she would make her way to the front to his mind.

'_She did not jump at the sound of my title she simply passed me off as if I was a regular person. Something that I wanted everyone to due yet they could not do it.' _He thought to himself.

'_At least I did have one person in my mind but she went of to marry the love of her life and gave birth to two children or rather a set of twins and is about to give birth to three more children. However that relationship did not go pass the platonic level and that upset me.' _

The feel of the purification started to seep through his skin, _'My heart had leapt when I saw the look she gave me…the same look that I feel in love with, with Molly/Eva at the time.' _

'_She had trusted me with so much of her secrets, her dreams, her fears, her goals, her models, her dislikes, likes and loves. She told me her real name before anyone else knew and she was the best pilot that I could ever gun for.'_

'_But when she saw Aikka it was a whole other story. She seemed to start spending less time witih me and more time with him.'_


	20. Whereabouts

'_It is no use trying to look around on the castle grounds' since Rick knows for a fact that she would stay here as long as the Avatar was here.' _He summed up in his head while walking down a hallway before seeing Princess Mai round a corner.

"Excuse me but have you seen Ms. Natalie lately? I have been looking for her all over the place but I could not find her." She approached Minato in a cautious manner since he had not known her well.

"No, I have not princess. I apologize that I could not be of any help to you." Minato answered with honesty.

"It's strange because I would have thought that if you soldiers wanted to take a break you would head back to your quarters to relax. But I guess I am mistaken." Princess Mai expressed her opinion.

'_That's it…how could I have not know that that is where she could possible be.' _Minato thought to himself after having an epiphany from hearing what Mai told her.

"I am sorry princess but I am in a hurry to find someone, so excuse my rudeness." Minato apologized to her with a bow before taking off.

'_I swear guys are…so weird sometimes.' _ Princess Mai thought to herself after hearing what Minato told her.

0000

"Why are you after me?" Natalie inquired to the man once again when she did not receive her answer from the strange figure that was standing in front of her.

The male shifted in the chair so he could push his seat out and rose to his feet in the process. "It seemed as if you had sent off some type of signal that warned us and we do not want you to lose control."

'_Lose control…did they make me into a monster?' _she thought after hearing the male's statement.

"When your body is under some kind of stress or harm, we pick it up. We observed that your anger was beginning to raise in the red factor and we do not want that to happen…_again_." He explained in a rough answer.

"So wait…are you telling me that you can locate me by my emotional signals?" She asked him in disbelief after hearing what he told her.

"Not only that but we do a lot of other things that I am not inclined to tell you. Besides seeing is believing correct?" He asked her suggesting that she should follow him.

Natalie found herself rising to her feet with curiosity driving the whole way as a small fear factor played into her thoughts.

"Trust me…once you see what I am about to show you then you will believe." He told her before grabbing the door's handle and opened it.

0000

Eva rubbed Aikka's head when she heard him humming the same melody she heard when she was at the Noursaia Priest Water Fountain, _'I wonder what is going on with Natalie…'_

She released a heavy sigh before she felt a couple of kicks in her stomach that was a little more painful then the first months when she had those problems.

"It seems as if they are ready to come out, aren't they?" Aikka joked after feeling the kicks against his cheek.

Eva winced, "You can say that again but hey you don't have to kick so hard."

She felt Aikka's laughter vibrate against her very swollen stomach, "Its okay you three, your time has not come yet. You do not want to come too early and cause complications, now do you?"

Eva suddenly felt at ease after hearing what Aikka said, "I swear if I did not have you. They would be kicking the crap out of me."

Aikka smiled to himself after hearing his wife's statement. "They are just extremely excited to see the world that they will be born into that's all."

"If you say so…I am ready for them too so they will stop kicking me as if I was a ball or something." Eva continued to complain towards her husband.

"Besides, it has been a little to quiet for my taste. I miss Natalie…" Eva told her husband before lying back on the bedpost in an upright position.

"You are right if it goes on any further then I will ask Rick what is going on. So try not to worry too much about them okay?" Aikka reassured his wife when he felt her hand rubbing his head.

"Sure." She answered her husband's question with finality in her tone.

0000

Natalie found that the hallway she was being led down was darker then when they first started out on but for some reason she could still "see" her way through it.

"You should not be surprised if you can see your way through this since your other senses are working to make up for the lost of sight." The man's voice chimed in before walking her into the bright light

Natalie walked out to see a large area that was barren except for a couple of scratches along the ways and black marks on the wall.

"Would you like to take a guess at what happened in this room?" The male asked her before stopping at the flexi-glass that served as a viewing area.

Natalie's eyes skirted around the scene when a small black box appeared once again on her retina, _'20% gunpowder reside left over…dents made by light machine guns with a 5.66 mm. ' _

"You used this room to test explosions or maybe…" Natalie stopped in her observation when the answer hit her.

"You use this room to test combat abilities with weapons." Natalie answered his question with confidence in her tone before looking over to see that the male nodded his head.

Without warning or speaking he turned the opposite directions and continued down the hallway.

'_For some reason…there is something I can not put my finger on….' _She thought to herself when she continued to follow the man in front of her.

"Try not to dwell on certain things to long just observe with your eyes." The male suggested after observing the look on her face.

'_She would not be able to remember anyway no matter how hard she tries. Maybe I can experiment with how far she can tap into her subconscious for those memories.' _He thought to himself before facing his sight back forward.

0000

'_I can not believe I could not think about that in the first place.' _Minato thought to himself while weaving in and out of the crowded marketplace with his sword slapping against his leg.

"Excuse me sir," he said while continuing on to his intended destination knowing that time could possibly be going against him.

'_Why did you have to run away from your problems? That is not something good to have for someone like her.' _ He thought to himself before seeing that he was in the path of a vendor and their cart.

Minato squat before jumping out of the way while avoiding the possible collision, _'Are you the kind of person who can wear strength yet do not have it at all?' _

He reflected back on the time when he first met Natalie before even coming to King Aikka's palace.

"Where are we going master Namikaze?"a smaller version of Minato asked his master while walking alongside him in strides.

"We are going to visit a dear friend of mines. I think you will like him when you meet him." He explained to his young disciple while walking down a forest path.

Minato looked at his master with a weird look on his face when he heard his answer before his eyes fell on a small wooden house with a circular shape that had a platform for its foundation

'_It looks like a clubhouse! It is so cool!' _Minato thought to himself after seeing the house and its structure.

"Well it seems as if you are impressed already. How about we go ahead and meet my friend? I am sure he is expecting our arrival." Minato heard his master say while they made their way up the hill to the house.

Minato was growing excited, as he could not wait to see who his master's friend was that lived in such an amazing house.

His master knocked on the door while Minato was off in his own world. "Hello there you must be Minato. You know Namikaze has been talking about you a lot in his letters to me."

A male with long black hair and black sunglasses appeared at the door while looking at Minato. "Minato, remember to be polite when someone is talking to you."

Minato snapped out of his daze when he managed to respond, "Oh hello, how are you?"

Rick could not help but laugh at the little boy's action, "I am fine, come inside, I want you to meet someone too."

Namikaze took the first steps inside with Minato walking in behind him, "You can bring them out now and placed them on the table."

"Um, Master who is he talking to?" Minato asked Namikaze who simply did not respond to the question but instead followed the man with long black hair into what he assumed was the living room.

Rick guided them to a living room before showing them where to sit, "Its good to see you are moving around. I am surprised that you told me that you acquired a disciple along the way."

Minato knew they were talking about him but decided to stay out of the conversation. "I could not help it…he showed incredible resolve even when he was facing someone with a much higher power than his."

Rick's attention turned back to the young boy to the left of Namikaze, "You must have quite the spirit within in you to take on Namikaze…I do not know if that is a good or bad thing."

"I have the snacks you asked for father." A young girl with long black hair and green eyes soon spoke after appearing in their vision.

"So this must be Natalie that you told me about? She's quite adorable Rick." Namikaze spoke when Natalie entered their sights with a silver tray in her hands.

Minato was awe stuck when he saw the girl place the tray, which held snacks and drinks, on the surface of the wooden table.

"Yes it may seem so. Natalie, I would like for you to meet a good friend of mines, his names is Namikaze and he is going to be staying over for quite a while so our training must stop for the moment." Rick his informed his daughter.

"I understand. Do you want me to prepare the guest room?" Natalie asked her father with a blank look on her face.

Rick's eyes cut over to where Minato was before looking at his old companion before nodding their heads in sync.

"Natalie," he called for his daughter's attention, "Could you show Minato around the house and outside?"

He froze when she looked up at him with her green eyes, "It is not like I will be able to start my training anytime soon. So I have no other choice then."

'_That was the first time that I meet her…' _he thought before crossing the borders that showed that he was heading in the right location.

'_Although you may not have known it…but I made a promise that I am going to keep…_'

0000

"Does anything that you see look familiar to you?" the male asked her while observing her actions and responses to see if he could get a clue as to her feelings or thought process.

"A little but everything is not together…it seems as if there is a image that I just can not put together." She answered his question before seeing that he stopped in front of her.

"This facility is still in use and is used by certain military branches for training purposes but I think you figured that out too. Am I right to assume that you wish to know what else is wrong?" the male asked after hearing Natalie's statement.

Natalie paused before answering, "Where are we exactly?"

"I am sorry but I can not answer that question for you. But I do have a suggestion for you though." He told her.

"How about you just figure it out yourself? After all you are the one with all of the questions here and I am just the one with limited answers."

"Or more like the problem that I can not solve…who exactly are you?" she asked when the idea donned on her.

"Let's just say I am more of a shadow from this place then a human being." The man said no more to her after that which left her in a deeper fog.

'_Why can't I place my finger on it about this place? It is familiar but is just a blur to me now.'_ She thought, as she felt frustrated from not being able to figure out what happen.

0000

'_It really seems as if I am not missed at all_ ' Jordan thought to himself with his eyes still towards the sky.

'_Well there is no point in being depressed about it.' _He thought before sitting up so that his upper body was off the ground.

'_At least my plan is still in action so that means now all I have to do is be patient and soon…Natalie will be mines and no one else's.' _ his resolve grew with his statement.

Jordan rose to his feet and pushed himself off from the ground and made his way towards the sky.

'_Now I know what I must do know.' _


	21. Bygone Answers

Minato noticed that the sun was setting as he was making his way towards Natalie's quarters when he could hear the sound of soldiers moving about the primacies signaling to him that they were finished with whatever duty that they had to do today.

'_I remember when I first arrived here…I hated the fact that I had a curfew…' _he reflected to himself when he paused in the middle of strolling up the small hill.

He shook his head, _'I cannot think about that right now? Time is not on my side.' _He thought to himself before returning to his mission.

'_I wonder would she remember the first conversation that we had with one another.' _ He thought inwardly while continuing on his run towards Natalie when he allowed himself to recall the first ever conversation he had with her.

"This house is amazing!" A little version of Minato exclaims while following behind a smaller version of Natalie.

"Can you keep your voice down? It is quite rude for you to be shouting in someone else home." Natalie asked him in a rather bored tone as she was annoyed by his presence.

Minato quietly ignored the comment that was made by his tour guide and decided to look around at his surroundings before asking her, "What is your name?"

He noticed that the girl in front of him had stopped and glanced over her shoulder before answering, "Natalie Andros."

'_That was surprisingly easy…' _he thought to himself when he remembered he had to introduce himself, "My name is Minato."

Natalie did not respond but continued on walking, "Hey you can at least tell me when you are going to walk off."

'_She is one weird girl. Natalie Andros, eh?' _ Minato thought to himself when he noticed that he was now outside of the house.

He took in the city below them in awe and amazement, "You guys have the best view of the city!" Minato exclaimed again.

Natalie shook her head at the boy name Minato as if he just did not hear her warn him about shouting in the house. _'Now he is screaming outside…what is wrong with this boy?' _

She watched as he continued with his observation of the kingdom of Noursaia with excitement and even start pointing out some familiar landmarks that he knew and rambled on about it to her.

"And over there is…oh yeah that is where…oh I did not know you can that from here…" Natalie was listening in and out of his conversation.

"Hey you," Natalie called out to him breaking him out of his conversation with himself and looked at Natalie.

"I thought I told you that my name was _Minato_. It is not that hard to remember since it is just a first name." Minato stated after realizing that she did not call him by his name.

"Anyway, from what I heard from my father is that your master doesn't accept just anyone as his pupil." Natalie started off.

"So you must think that I am weak or something?" Minato asked her, as he would often hear that same question asked to him by others.

"Did you hear that come out of my mouth? You know it is not a good thing to try and dig to deep in my words? All I said was from what my father told me…unless you just automatically assumed that whenever you hear people ask you that." Natalie responded with her arms across her chest and her weight shifted to her left foot.

Minato was caught off guard with Natalie's statement, "If you really are your master's disciple then you should had already have learned not to jump to conclusion or have assumptions about people when it comes down to your master."

'_She has some scary eyes. But she is right though he told me not to do that.' _Minato thought to himself after seeing Natalie's eyes slant to a deadly low when she conversed to him.

"My apologies then, you actually sound just like him by the way." Minato apologized to Natalie while laughing and rubbing the back of his head at the same time.

"Ah I see you two are getting along quite well, that is a relief." Rick's voice chimed in between the two children conversation.

"I would not agree father, but it seems as if he has no spine whatsoever." Natalie answered while turning away from her father, Namikaze, and Minato.

"Natalie! That is such a rude thing to say to our guest." Rick stated but knew his daughter was not about to take it back or apologize for what she said about Minato.

"My, my, my, she reminds me so much of someone I know." Namikaze said after laughing at Natalie's actions.

"Well anyway, I am going to need for you to run a few errands for me? Do you think you can do that for me?" Rick asked his daughter before she turned around to face him again.

"Sure…as long as I am not around him." Natalie answered while pointing at Minato with her index finger.

Namikaze could not help but to laugh once again at Natalie's action against Minato, "Rick," he grabbed his friend's shoulder.

"How about we allow Princess Natalie to show Minato around Nourasia? He has not been back in some years and I want him to see his old home again." Namikaze offered as a suggestion towards Rick.

"That does not sound that bad. Natalie do as what Namikaze suggested and take Minato out." Rick changed his statement due to Namikaze suggestion.

"Ah come on dad! That is not fair!" Natalie protested against the idea but Rick remain firm with his decision.

'_To think that we end up actually enjoying the day with one another even though she did not want to admit it…' _he thought to himself before finally making it to her main quarters and entered through the door.

0000

Natalie was growing tired of following the man in front of her around as if she was a lost puppy dog begging for a home to live in.

"Is this all that you are planning to show me?" Natalie asked him while stopping in the middle of what appeared to be a hallway.

The man turned around to face her, "You can leave any time you want if you are growing bored that is?"

"Actually I am and these strange rooms and riddles that you are giving me is starting to get old. How do I return back to my quarters?" Natalie asked with sincerity in her tone.

"It seems as if you have lost all the interest in this project so I will show you a way out." The male stated the obvious before continuing on his walk.

She followed behind him as he did not present a hostile presence so she continued to still be on her toes just in case he might try something weird.

"It seems as if we have reached the end of your visit with me anyway. I do hope you come back and visit me again." The man stated with the latter part in a teasing manner before standing in front of a wall and facing Natalie.

"I don't see a door here. What are you trying to do pull a fast one on me?" She asked him after she observed her settings and saw no visible signs of a door or a possible exit any where.

The man laughed to himself at Natalie's nativity, "It seems as if you are not allowing your senses to roam free on this one."

Natalie paused in her rebuttal to the man's comment before hearing the sound of wind passing through a crack, the feel of it blowing on her and the smell of food. '_The dimensions of the door is like crawling though a hole or a secret tunnel.' _She thought while seeing a white box outlined against the wall.

"It seems as if you have figured it out. All you have to do is push the door in and just walk through and you will be back _home_." The man instructed her on how to open the door.

He moved out of the way allowing Natalie to walk pass him, "You know after giving me that hint I think I am able to use them a little bit better."

Natalie squatted and placed her left hand on the wall and pushed it in before feeling it shift underneath her hand.

"Well it was a pleasure to see that at least one of the experiments survived." The man said to Natalie before she crawled through the square hole.

'_Great another dark tunnel to crawl through.' _Natalie thought to herself while imitating a dog, walking on all fours, when she felt the tunnel shift into an incline rather then a straight line.

She knew she was close to the surface when she saw rays of light peeking through what seemed to be the exit for her.

'_I am almost there...'_ Natalie thought to herself before she had to punch her way through a wooden door that served as the exit.

0000

Jordan felt as if he just left all of his worries and problems in the pool of water after he emerged from the pristine pool water.

'_It seems as if I can never win when it comes down to the female race.' _He thought to himself before looking around to see that is was almost nighttime.

He turned to see his reflection was not of his human face but rather the one that he was blessed with when taking on the Avatar's power.

'_Well I won't have to see that face again for a while.' _He thought to himself before turning to face the sky.

'_I will have to be quick since my time here is slowly coming to an end.' _ He said before stepping down the steps of the fountain to those that were engraved in the side of the mountain.

The sound of his footsteps echoed throughout the small portion of the Royal Family's lineage when a thought passed his head before turning his attention back to his destination.

'_I hate how strong I have be come. I just want to feel one type of human emotion.' _He thought as he looked at his golden colored hand.

He found himself looking at a closed fist instead of an open one when he could feel the feeling of nothing in his palm.

Jordan released a sigh of defeat and made his way away from the peaceful vibe that he was receiving from the place.

'_He doesn't know that I can crush him easily with a blink of an eye or just a simple thought.' _Jordan thought to himself before deciding against it since it was not the Avatar's nature to hold aggression against another person.

'_I think it is about time to put my plan on full steam ahead and I plan to knock all of those who are in my way out.' _

0000

Minato knew he made it to his destination when he saw the battalion's number along the front entrance of the building.

'_Who would have thought that this place looks nice?' _He thought when he made his way over to the entrance before pulling on the golden knob and enters.

There was not much traffic going through the place as he assumed that since it was close to curfew that those would be making their way to their dorms by now.

"Ah, Sir Minato, it is an honor for you to be in our presence. Is there something wrong?" a woman with short cropped purple hair with round glasses asked him while giving him a salute.

"No, I just need to speak to Captain Andros, her father, Sir Rick, asks me to deliver a message to her _directly_." Minato partially told the real reason why he was there.

The woman's eyes cut somewhere else, "Well Captain Andros is not in and quite frankly I do not know when will she be back, Sir Minato."

'_So she could not even bring herself to tell her own men where she was going? What kind of captain is she?' _Minato thought to himself after hearing what the woman said to him.

"Well then do you know where her office is?" Minato asked the woman in front of him with a serious look on her face.

"Yes, she actually left me in charge of the facilities, my name is 2nd Lit. Steele. I can direct you to where her office is." The woman who was sitting behind the wooden desk introduced herself to him.

"Well then what are waiting for then?" Minato told the woman who had turned down the opposite direction she just came from.

'_I just hope she is still in there.' _Minato thought while following the lower rank officer in front of him.

0000

Natalie made her way around to the entrance of some hidden passageways she had learned after looking at the layout of the building that she was placed in charge of incase they came under fire by a foe.

She relied heavily on her sense of hearing as well as touch and her memory of the layout plans.

'_Alright then…lets get this over with…' _she thought to herself before walking about five paces forward before turning left.

'_Eight paces forward pass the first hall make the turn on the third step.' _She thought to herself when she felt a slight breeze against her face.

'_Run about two and a half, jump and run about twelve paces turn left and then right, and the go through the diagonal before cutting right.' _ She thought when she felt the smaller walls of the diagonal hall before feeling the opening.

'_The walls slump down in a decline fashion, crawl about a couple of inches, stop, and then turn to your left.' _She ran through all of the directions in her head.

She crawled the rest of the distance before leaning to the side so she could gain some leeway before placing her foot against the opening.

She inhaled before rearing her foot back and kicked it with some force causing the square door to fly across her office room, a brief clang was heard signaling that it fell against the floor.

'_Well I am finally home…' _Natalie thought to herself in relief when she crawled out backwards at a slow pace so she would not hit her head.

"So that is where you have been hiding?" a familiar voice chimed in causing her to hit her head on the wall due to the surprise.


	22. Discovered Truth

"So this is where you been hiding." A familiar voice spoke causing her to hit her head on the wall.

'_God that hurts…' _Natalie thought to herself when she made her way completely out of the hidden area while rubbing the top of her head to dull the throbbing pain.

"So you are telling me that you ran away from your duties at the castle to play hide and go seek?" Minato asked her once she rose to her feet and dusted herself off.

Natalie did not expect for someone to find her this quick since she still had a day left before she would have came back but why did it have to be _him _to find her first.

"I was going to come back tomorrow when I had my head in the right place but I am sure you would not care since I so called abandoned my mission." Natalie answered back before making her way around to her desk.

"It seems as if you cleaned up too since your trashcan bin is full. Here I thought you were not the domestic type of girl." Minato joked with her not knowing that he was irritating her.

Natalie rubbed her temples as she had went through a lot within the twenty-four hours and she just wanted to lie down so she could process everything that has happened.

"And if I remember correctly you were always the type that knew how to get under people's skin. Yet it seems as if you have gotten better at it." Natalie stated while leaning back in her chair.

Minato could not help but laugh at how sincere she was, "Rick had a feeling that you were going to come back within a three day period but we could not wait for that."

Natalie looked at him confused, "What do you mean _we _could not wait?"

Minato looked up at her with a serious look on her face, "We noted that there were some strange things going on within the castle. We had to up the security around the castle yet we could not do that due to someone who had to take a vacation due to their personal vendetta with a galactic official."

"I know how you hate when I bring your rank up but when you were missing what if the enemy were to find out that this place was missing its leader? Then they would have gained an upper advantage on us."

Natalie brought her fist on the desk making another dent in her desk, "You don't know anything about me!"

Minato was taking aback by her reaction; _'It is just like that time with the boulder…no marks on her hand or any signs of pain.' _

"When you have someone enter your mind causing images you thought you had tucked away and forgot about and causes them to resurface as if they were nothing but bubbles. When you see the place that you came to know and love as your home burn before your very eyes with a fleeting sense of hope that everyone made it out safe and sound."

"Then you receive news that they took a long vacation and that you will be residing with other kids instead. When you hope and pray that your parents would return to you. Then you are told that if you go to this institution that you will see your parents. Instead they run tests on you as if you are not even a human being and forced to live each and every day hoping that you will live to see the next day. So until you can compare your life to mines I don't care what you say about me. "

Minato saw that Natalie was on the verge of tears when she spoke to him about her past that she could no longer hold it all in and collapsed to her knees crying.

"I hate being me! I hate having this life! I hate having these abilities! I hate the Avatar! I hate what he stands for!" she punched the ground with every statement while tears of anger and frustration rolling down her face.

Minato found himself rising to his feet and made his way behind the desk where Natalie was and grabs her elbow stopping herself from hitting the ground.

"Let me go!" Natalie exclaimed while breaking down into even more sobs when she tried to yank her arm free from Minato's tight grip.

She let out a scream of agony causing Minato to get down to her level so he could prevent her from hurting herself in her current state.

"It's alright." Minato told her when he reached out and grabbed her within his grasp.

Natalie punched, clawed and even tried to pry herself away from Minato but he maintained his grip on her.

He felt her body relax as she gave one final try before crying into Minato's chest, "You have a loving father who is concern about you. You have others who worry about your safety. You have those who you lead that care about you."

"Remember I told you from when we were younger that I would protect you…that was why I came looking for you." He told her after her hysteria had ended and she had calmed down while he was rubbing her head and her back in a soothing manner.

He heard her sniffing, "And you looked at me as if I could not do it. So you said you would be the one protecting me. I don't know if you remember it but I remember it plain as day."

"Do you remember when your dad had force us to conduct our own training with each other? You did not like having me intrude on your training area but you were adamant in defeating me three times." Minato asked her.

"Oh I got a better one, do you remember when we were doing the errands my master force me to go on? You remember what that old woman said when we got some lettuce from her…she thought we were boyfriend and girlfriend." Minato recollected to himself.

"I remember when we had that party and I found out that you weren't much of a socializing person. So you escaped to the rooftop and allowed me to join you. You started to point out constellations that I did not know of and your face lit up with joy." Minato responded before feeling her grip tightened on his shirt.

"That…was when…I accepted you…as a friend." Natalie said before releasing her grip on his shirt.

"Well it's good to know that I was not talking to myself then I thought I was going crazy for a minute." He joked while laughing at himself.

"You have a nice laugh." Natalie said after hearing the vibrations through his chest with a smile on her face.

"I missed Rick, King Aikka and Queen Eva, Kieran and Kiera…" she paused while tightening her grip on his shirt again.

Minato could tell that she was being sincere and did not want her to push herself too hard after her mental breakdown.

"It's alright you don't have to tell me since I am grateful that you told me what you had on your chest." Minato answered after hearing her pause.

He felt her ease once again in his arms. She nodded her head in a no fashion; "I only thought that when I did go through with my plan I would let you down the most. Since you love your job so much. I did not want you to gain the reputation of having a solider that you could not change."

'_Was that part of the reason why she left from the castle?' _he thought after hearing what she said.

"Not to mention that the other bothersome person there only increased me to make this decision to take a break."

"How about if you are going to take a break let someone know before you go storming off. You had_ me_ worried."

Natalie looked up at him after hearing what he said, "What I mean is…_we_ were worried about you."

She placed her head back to his chest enjoying the sound of his beating heart since it created a sense of peace and a calming effect. "We have to go back tonight."

"Not yet, I still have one more day before I can go back to the castle." Natalie told him with a serious look on her face.

"Then do you want me to stay with you or do you want me to go?" Minato asked after checking the time on the digital clock that sat on top of Natalie's desk.

Natalie nodded her head up and down in a yes manner against his chest.

"Alright then we will leave first thing tomorrow morning. I am sure that everyone will be waiting for you then." Minato told her when he moved her over to the couch.

"Minato…" her voice was soft when she called for him. "Yes what is it?" he asked before she placed her head on his right thigh.

"Thank you." She told him before closing her eyes allowing herself to drift into a sleep mode.

Minato had a smile on his face before pushing a stray strand of her hair way from her face.

'_I wonder will you act the same in the morning?' _Minato thought to himself before allowing himself to fall asleep.

0000

Aikka had carted his wife into their bedroom and stopped her at the side of the bed before helping her on to the bed.

"Didn't the doctor say I have a couple of weeks from now before they arrive?" Eva asked her husband after he had placed her legs up on the bed and pushed the wheelchair off somewhere.

"Yes…did your water break or something?" "Do you feel any discomfort right now?"

"No…no, I am just trying to count down the days before _I _give birth to three more kids." Eva answered calming Aikka down in the process.

"Just let me know if you feel something alright?" Aikka asked while he rounded the bed and hopped in on his side.

"I know worry wart! I am just saying…oh I have chosen three other names for the babies." Eva announced to Aikka.

Aikka leaned over and placed his hand on her very swollen stomach, "So are you going to tell me the names of my future children again?"

"Why of course I am dear," Eva teased him first, "I choose Aidan, Iliana and Avian. Do you like those names?"

She swore she saw her husband become starry eyed after telling him the names she has been thinking about.

"Aidan, Iliana, Kieran, Kiera and Avian. Each initial of my name A…I…K…K…A. I think I am going to cry."

Eva rolled her eyes at her husband but could not help but admire how he lit up about having kids. _'To bad I don't share that same feeling…' _

"I heard that having multiple births back to back could be dangerous on a woman's body." Aikka stated with a serious look on his face.

Eva looked at her husband with a glare in her eyes, "Are you suggesting that you were considering to get me pregnant again once I recovered from giving birth to these three in my stomach?"

Aikka let out a nervous laugh under his wife intense stare as he could feel himself grow smaller under her glare, "I mean it was a _suggestion_."

Eva let out a sigh of relief before placing her back against their bedpost a now favorite position she took whenever she was near her due date.

"Aikka are you listening to me?" Eva asked with seriousness in her tone.

"Yes what is it dear?" He asked as he could only take a wild guess at what her answer might be.

"Like I told you before, before we can have any more kids but we need to take care of the ones we already have and the ones on the way." She gave him her honest opinion on expanding their family.

"So you are saying that you are willing to have more kids?" Aikka asked showing his hard headness whenever she would agree to his terms.

She pulled on his cheeks, "You weren't listening to me, were you?"

"Oh that really did hurt…" Aikka complained while rubbing his sore jaws from Eva's vice grip.

Eva looked over at her husband once again, "We have to raise the ones coming and the two that are already here."

"And then can we have…don't even say what you are about to say again or I will be forced to pinch your cheeks again." Eva cut Aikka off as she learned that he had the tendency to repeat things too when not playing attention.

Eva saw her husband face light up like a kid in a candy store and could never stay mad at him for long.

"Sorry…" he sounded like a little child apologizing for what they did wrong for the problem that they caused.

She looked at him with a straight face before trying to stop herself from laughing at the look her grown husband was giving her.

"Yay! I got a smile out of you!" Aikka joked along with his wife who was laughing so hard that she was on the verge of crying.

Eva wiped a tear from her eye before it could fall down, "Well then how about we call it a night. I am sleepy after all."

"Good night Eva." Aikka leaned over and kissed her forehead and then her swollen stomach.

"Good night Aikka." Eva returned the kiss but instead she kissed his swollen cheeks.

0000

Jordan had retraced his steps back to the castle before the moon could reach its peak in the sky.

'_Where are you?' _he thought before making his way inside of the castle and moving around through the corridors as if he was looking for someone.

He silently counted the doors before arriving to this one in particular that caught his eyes.

A couple of soft rasps against the door sent whoever was behind the door to make their way over to the door before opening it up.

"Can I come in?" he asked the person who opened the door in front of him.

They simply widened the door enough so that Jordan could enter.


	23. Homecoming

The sun rose on the kingdom of Noursaia as it has done since the existence of both entities some eons ago.

'_Is it morning, already?' _Minato thought to himself when some of the sun rays that peeked through the closed blinds blind him.

He was about to stretch out after seeing the light from the window since it was a habit he develop from his master when he remembers that something or rather someone was on him.

'_How could I forget that easily…she snapped last night…' _he thought after recalling the event a couple of hours back.

Minato felt something shift when he saw Natalie's black hair enter his vision when he noticed that she had just awoken from her slumber.

Natalie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes once she sat completely straight up when something caught her attention.

Her eyes cuts over to see who was sitting next to her and feels at ease once she recognizes who it was.

"I should have known that it would have been _you_. Since you seem to have this ability to keep finding me." Natalie states before closing her eyes again while resting against the back of the sofa.

Minato could not help but laugh at her statement, "Even after all these years, it seems as if I haven't lost my touch yet."

She allowed herself to recall a certain memory, _'I remember when he came back the second time to visit my dad and I.'_

"Hey what are you doing up there? You know you can fall and break your arm." A ten-year-old Minato says while at the base of a rather large tree.

Natalie leans her head against the bark of the tree while her eyes stay affix to the item that was on the same branch she was sitting on.

She sighs before responding, "I felt like climbing up here that's why! It is not like I haven't broken my arm before."

Minato shakes his head at how stubborn Natalie still was after two years he visit them along with his master.

'_Well it seems as if I have no other choice then.' _ He thought to himself when he nears the trunk of the branch and begins to climb upwards.

Natalie lean forward when she hears some cracking noise, _'They are almost here.'_

She had completely tuned Minato's presence out due to her not really caring about him at the moment.

Minato had made his way up the trunk and paused when he was on the side of Natalie, "Well at least you won't be bored up here all by yourself."

He noticed that Natalie seemed to be looking at something since she did not respond to his previous statement.

'_What are you looking at?' _he thought before tracing her gaze mentally to a nest made of small twigs, brown leaves, and some brown material holding it all together but what really catches his attention were the three eggs that were currently about to hatch.

The sound of baby birds chirping breaks the silence among them when the sight of the little birdies mother catches their eyes.

"Is this why you came up here?" he asks her while he observes the mother bird feeding her newborn children.

She still did not answer his question, as she just want to silently enjoy the moment of seeing new life being born right in front of her very own eyes.

For some reason she could not help but to wonder how Minato would assets the situation before cutting her eyes over to him.

She was surprised to see that he had a fairly interested look on his face. _'There just maybe a little hope for him…'_

Natalie opens her eyes before rising to her feet and scratching the back of her head causing her long ponytail to shake from side to side.

"Well then I think it is about time we start heading back." Minato suggest to her before rising to his feet as well.

She turned and tilted her head at him, "Thanks again. You know you really didn't have to come _again_ to help me out."

Minato shrugs his shoulders before returning the stare; "It will be out little secret then."

'_I really don't deserve you as a friend or a rival…' _Natalie thought to herself before they walked out of her office.

0000

Meanwhile at the castle Aikka and Eva made their daily morning stop at Rick's office.

"Are you sure she is coming back today?" Eva asked Rick once again about Natalie's whereabouts after they had entered his office.

Rick nods his head at Eva's question, "I have a feeling that she will be back this morning."

"Oh, have you seen Minato too?" Aikka inquires about Minato's whereabouts as well.

Rick's eyebrow raise at the couple's question this morning, which sparks his interest.

"Well I told Minato to go find Natalie for me." Rick answers Aikka's question while leaning back in his chair to get comfortable.

"Is that why you said that Natalie would be back this morning." Eva states after hearing Rick's answer to her husband question.

Aikka look between his wife and Rick and got the feeling that they knew something that he did not know.

"Eva, are you going to tell me what you two are talking about?" Aikka ask when he turns to face his wife who was sitting to the left of him.

Eva turns to face her husband, "Of course I will, but right now we have other business to look forward to."

Aikka could not help but to wear a smile after hearing his wife reassuring tone towards his hesitate question.

This time it was Rick's turn to look confuse as the couple were passing cryptic messages on to one another that only the two can decipher.

"Rick," Eva voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He acknowledges her by nodding his head in an up and down manner.

"Do you think you can come back here when Natalie and Minato comes back on the castle's grounds?" Eva asks him.

'_What do those two have planned for Minato and Natalie?' _he thought to himself after paying attention to their entire conversation.

"I don't see why not since I am going to met them when they arrive." Rick answers before turning in his chair.

0000

"So you think that that would be the best time is when I leave?" Princess Mai asks Jordan who was currently sitting in her temporary room.

Jordan nods his head; "They have already dispell any thoughts of you being an enemy to them so that would be the perfect opportunity while maintaining your princess image."

"I am due to leave the following week so I need to call them three days from now…" Mai's voice trails off within her statement.

"Trust me the Crogs would have no other chose but to listen to the information that you are about to proved them with." Jordan states while reassuring her feelings.

"But they will not launch an immediate attack and with Queen Eva due within the next month, she might have a miscarriage and I don't want that." Mai answers with a thoughtful look on her face.

Jordan steps closer to the girl with his hands on one of her curls, "Don't worry about that...leave that up to me. You should just worry about giving the right information."

Mai looks up in Jordan's eyes and feel some kind of comfort and nods her head showing that she was willing to go with the plan.

'_That was easier then I expected it to be...' _Jordan thought to himself with a devilish smile present on his face.

0000

The streets of Noursaia were particularly crowded especially in the morning due to vendors and merchants setting up their shops.

"Were the cloaks really necessary Minato?" Natalie asks him while she walks a couple of steps behind him.

"Remember to always be cautious when walking in public...besides it is a little fun like this." Minato answers while looking over his shoulder at her.

'_Still so childish…' _she thought while shaking her head when she sees the sight of the park in her eye sight.

"Hey…can you…" Natalie pauses at the end of her sentence as if she could not find the right words to say.

Minato glances around their surroundings before noticing where they were. He quickly stops and extends his hand out to her.

"You know, I remember you ask me the same thing when we were younger? Even though, you didn't like asking me for help." Minato says while looking at her in the face.

Natalie reaches out for his hand before catching up to Minato's pace, "I was upset at you."

Minato looks at her to see her looking at something off in the distance, "Since you didn't tell me that you plan on starting your candidacy for a Knight of the Round early."

'_I had a feeling that this was going to come up sooner or later…' _he thought to himself before returning his attention to the road ahead of him.

"There were two reasons why I didn't tell you but before I do let me ask you a question," he says with seriousness present his tone. _'It is really three reasons why…'_

"Is that the reason why you stop speaking to me for about six and a half years?" Minato inquires.

'_No…' _"Yes some of it was. So why didn't you not tell me?" She answers his question while asking her question.

"You were enjoying yourself at the party and I didn't want to ruin your night with that announcement." He tells her which causes her to reflect briefly on that memory.

"Then I didn't know what our relationship was with one another. I wasn't sure if you viewed me as a rival or a close friend or just the spineless worm who lost to you three times out of the four."

That statement causes her to freeze in her thoughts, _'How could he have not know…'_

She finds herself looking at the ground now not knowing how to respond to Minato's previous statement, "Well we are back at home sweet home."

Natalie glances up to see that they were now in the front of the castle _'I can't believe that I am back here again.' _While in her thoughts she unknowingly squeezes his hand.

"Trust me, I will protect you. So try not to worry about him too much." Minato tells her after feeling her squeeze his hand.

For some reason, Natalie was at ease whenever she was around Minato, _'Why do I feel calm?' _

0000

Eva was sitting in the gazebo with her twins enjoying the early morning scenery of the castle.

"Hey mom, didn't you say that Natalie was coming back today?" Kieran asks his mother while sitting to the side of her.

Eva looks at her only son before answering his question, "You sure have been asking a lot of question about Natalie lately."

She notice her son quickly become quiet, "I believe he has a crush on Ms. Natalie, mom."

"You know what Kiera. I believe what you just told me." Eva teases her son when she sees pink tints on his cheeks.

"Mom," Kieran says since he was irritate that his twin and his mom were ganging him up on.

A servant approaches them during their talk, "Queen Eva, Prince Kieran, and Princess Kieran excuse my interruption…"

Eva look at her children before turning to look at the servant, "Go ahead then, what is the news that you bring me?"

"Sir Minato and Cpt. Natalie have arrive on the castle grounds and is making their way up to the front of the castle." The servant announce.

"Kieran and Kiera, can you push mommy?" Eva asks her children who waste no time in moving towards her direction.

"Let's go then…" Eva tells her children before they pushes her down the ramp.

0000

Minato and Natalie walks closer together as the walk to the castle appears to be so far away for Natalie.

'_Do I really want to go back…' _she thought when she finds herself stopping a couple of feet away from the castle's entrance.

"Natalie?" Minato calls out to her after not feeling her hand within his.

He sees her shaking her head before catching up to him as if she had a bad thought enter her head.


	24. Return of the Runaway

Eva noticed that when they arrived at the front entrance that her husband, Rick and Jordan were already there.

'_I wonder why Jordan is here?' _she thought to herself when she can feel the wheelchair coming to a slow stop.

The sight of two cloaked figures approaching them catches their attention and puts everyone on their guard.

"Well it is good to see everyone again. I found Natalie." Minato's voice can be heard before he removed the hood of the cloak from his head.

The other cloak figure did not immediately move to remove their hood, "Natalie, you are in the company of family and friends…excluding one person."

'_If Queen Eva says so…' _she thought to herself when she reaches and grasps the end of the cloak's hood.

"Hey there...long time no see." Natalie jokes after removing the hood from her face.

'_Is Queen Eva about to cry?' _she thought to herself. She observes Eva's eyes scrunch up and her hands covers her mouth.

"You know what young lady, you had me so worried about you! Don't try something like that ever again!" Eva's motherly side was evident in her statement towards Natalie.

Natalie hugged Queen Eva around the neck and was delighted when she returned the action, "Thank you for worrying about me. I will try not to do it again."

"It is good to see that you are still well, Natalie." Aikka offers his own form of condolence for the raven-haired woman.

Her father was quiet as always before enclosing her in a hug after ruffling her neatly combed hair. "I just combed that."

A small smile was evident on his face when he speaks to her "You know you have responsibilities now so you can't be doing your personal vacation like you usually could."

Natalie nods her head in agreement, "I will."

Before Natalie could get to Jordan with an argument ensure to happen between them, Eva decides to speak up "Aikka, I think it is time that we should make our announcement."

He nods his head to show that the timing was right, "What is it that you want to tell us?"

Eva looks at her husband, "Well as you all know that I am close to my due date. For some reason, bad things seem to lurk around me during that time. So Aikka and I decided that Kiera and Kieran and even these currently in my stomach should have godparents."

The group that surrounds around the King and Queen look among each other passing looks of confusion on to one another.

"We chose Minato and Natalie to be their godparents, would you accept that duty for us?" Aikka inquires in a polite tone.

'_This is not good!' 'Wow…' 'Yay, Minato and Natalie are my second parents!' 'I am about to cry.' _

The shock was still fresh as no one move after the question was asked, "I understand if you need some time to think about it but do try and give us a answer as soon as possible."

"I would gladly accepted the responsibilities. After all, you two have been nothing but compassionate and sincerely kind to me. It is the least I could do for you two." Minato announces his acceptance of becoming a godparent.

"I will gladly do the same. I am honor that you would chose me to look after them incase something may happen to you two."

Rick looks at his daughter and Minato and could tell that something change between them but he had a feeling that it was for the best.

'_I see those two have finally grown up. I should contact Namikaze and inform him of their growth.' _

Jordan could not believe that he was being completely ignored by Eva, Aikka, Rick and even _Natalie _of all the people standing before him.

His eyes settled on the blonde haired man name Minato, who arrived a couple of days ago and turned the whole castle upside down.

'_If he was not here then Natalie would be mines…' _Jordan thought to himself before seeing everyone disperse in his or her own separate ways.

He notes that Rick, Aikka and Minato went one way while Natalie pushes Eva down the opposite way with the twins on each side.

'_Divide and Conquer…' _he thought while walking down the path with Rick, Aikka and Minato to see what they were planning.

0000

"Don't you just enjoy the fresh morning breeze?" Eva asks Natalie once they arrive at the courtyard.

Natalie allows herself to enjoy the breeze as her ponytail takes a hold to the wind and blows along with it.

"Yeah...it feels amazing…" She answers in a dazed tone.

Eva glances up at Natalie after hearing the tone in her voice, "Are you sure you are entirely back, Natalie?"

She looks down at the Queen, "I guarantee you that I am one hundred percent back."

The sounds of the twins enjoying themselves provide Natalie a much needed break from Eva's prodding interrogation.

'_She has that look in her eyes…' _Eva thought to herself since she had those eyes at a certain time.

"Hey Natalie," Eva calls out to her while keeping her eyes locked on her children so no harm would come to them or inflicted upon themselves.

"Yes, Queen Eva?" Natalie answers her question without hesitation so she would not look suspicious.

"I have been wondering about this for the longest…how long have you known Minato?" She inquires about their relationship.

"I have known him since he was eight years old. So I would say, I have known Minato…going on twelve years now." Natalie recalls the years.

"Why didn't you say that you knew Minato previously?" Eva questions surprise at how long the raven-haired woman knew her blonde haired companion.

Natalie shrugs her shoulders up and down, "I wasn't talking to him for a while but I thought that he was unimportant to mention to you."

Eva eyes were wide eyed, "So you two weren't on good terms…eh? That's why you were so hostile towards him when you saw him again. Its all making sense now."

"What is making sense to you now, Queen Eva?" Natalie asks her, which causes Eva to smile, then follow by laughter.

"I should have known that if I look too hard at it then it would pass me by!" Eva says more to herself than Natalie.

'_Is the Queen going mad?' _she thought before making her way around towards the front of the Queen.

"Yes…yes…I can see it in your eyes now! My dear Natalie…" Eva announces to her after clasping Natalie's cheeks within her hands.

"You are…in _love_…with _Minato…" _Eva proclaims in a climatic finished when she sees Natalie's cheeks tint red.

"Oh don't worry…I was in your shoes at some point of time. Where I was conflicting with my feelings with Aikka. It is there in your eyes." Eva declares in a motherly tone.

Natalie pulls away from the Queen's grasp, "So how did I do with my crazy tone?"

She gives Eva a weird look, "I can't have people think that I have lost my sanity, now can I?"

"Now as I said from earlier you are in love with Minato, blink once for yes and blink twice for no?" Eva poses before seeing Natalie trying to hold her eyes wide open.

Eva laughs at her actions. "I will let you off the hook today but I think you should go see Rick."

"Why is that?" Natalie inquires about the Queen's request for her.

"He is your dad and I am sure that you had him worried…besides I can handle the kids on my own." Eva explains her reason why she suggest that option.

She nods her head to show that she agrees with the Queen's proposition. "One more thing before I forget…"

"You just gave me a reason to throw a ball…now go see your dad." Eva shooes her off as if she was one of her children.

0000

"If you don't mind Aikka, I will have to borrow Minato for a couple of minutes, so I can receive his debriefing." Rick interjects after discussing subject matters that dealt with the castle.

"I understand. I do have to spend some time with my wife and kids. I will see you two later then." Aikka offers his response before making his way to the courtyard.

Minato strolls alongside Rick; "I see that you have once again manage to locate Natalie when no one else could."

"Is that the reason, why you put me in charge of that because you knew that I would be able to find her?" Minato inquires on Rick's reasons why he sent him.

"If I were to answer your question with this answer…because you won't give up then would you accept that as my reason?"

Minato knew all too well that Rick was quite the string puller when he needed to be that is unless it cause harm to those who he cared for.

"I can tell there is something else on your mind…care to speak it?" Rick asks his blonde haired companion.

"There is one thing that concern me, did I ever tell you what happened when we were at Master Canaan's home?" Minato ask.

Rick pauses in his tracks, "No, I was not properly informed. Did something happen that day?"

"Not anything worth fretting over but what I'm speaking of is what Natalie demonstrated for us…" Minato hints.

"What did she show you? Is anything related to _that _program?" Rick wonders what Minato was getting at.

"With her first time picking up a bow, she manages to land an extremely difficult shot for someone who has been practicing their archery for a while. Not only that, but the incident where I observe Natalie punch a boulder with her bare hand breaking it into pieces without a scratch on her fist." Minato enlightens Rick.

"I don't recall Natalie taking up archery class nor being able to break a boulder with her bare hands." Rick recalls.

"I am afraid so…" Minato adds in.

"Well when she arrive, I will ask her of those events besides that I am just happy that my daughter is home." Rick states his opinion.

"As do all parents who care for their children, may I ask have you received any word from my master Namikaze?" Minato redirects the conversation to his second master.

"Ah, he hasn't written me a new letter yet but I have a gut feeling that he is still alive. Why do you ask of him now?" Rick inquires about Minato's reason.

"Just a concern that is all. Well I will take to my quarters so I can take a nap. I haven't had decent sleeping hours in the last twenty-four hours." Minato informs Rick of where he could find him.

Rick notices that they had just arrive at the entrance of his office before sending Minato off.

'_There is something there now…between those two.' _Rick thought to himself before passing the threshold of his door.

0000

'_I can't believe Queen Eva would accuse me of…such a thing!' _Natalie thought to herself while she was making her way towards her father's office.

'_Just because I have know Minato for a long time doesn't mean I have to have feelings for the guy!' _she thought inwardly when the sounds of someone whistling catches her attention.

The source of the whistle was none other then the object of her thoughts walking around from the corner, "Long time no see stranger."

"You just saw me a couple of minutes ago…" Natalie responses in a tone of resentment while avoid his stare.

'_That's weird…she is not looking me in the face. I wonder what is wrong with her?' _Minato thought to himself before seeing what direction she was heading in.

"Are you heading to see Rick?" Minato ask, since that was the only thing down there to keep her interest.

Natalie could feel her cheeks tint red after recalling what Queen Eva told her a couple of minutes ago.

'_If I can look him in his face then there is no way that…' _she thought before releasing a deep breath and willed herself to look at Minato.

"Is there something on my face?" he inquires after looking at the odd look present on Natalie's face.

'_I can't do it.' _"No, I need to talk to him since I already put him through enough drama and the same for you."

"Oh, no it is a pleasure to always try and find you." Minato responds to her comment, which in turned causes her face to turn bright red.

Natalie decides to just push past him before too much was revealed.


	25. Foreign Feelings

"Hey there," Natalie greeted her father once she appeared at Rick's office door.

Her father glanced up at her and returned the gesture of a smile, "Don't act like a stranger now, come on in."

Natalie could sense no signs of hostility or anger coming from her father but instead he looked as if had a serene nature.

Once she took a seat in front of him she asked him, "Are you angry at me for abandoning my post?"

Rick observed his daughter's facial expression while responding to Natalie's question, "I can not condone your chose from a military perspective but that is irrelevant at this moment. First and foremost I am speaking as your father and I am alleviated that you came back unharmed."

Natalie felt at ease once she heard what her father just told her. She was speechless and decided to nod her head at her father's notion.

'_Should I tell him what I found out about Princess Mai?' _she asked herself when she saw her father busy himself around his desk.

'_No that would only complicate things…I have to keep a close eye on her.' _Natalie thought to herself before deciding on the best way to handle the Princess Mai situation.

"So how does it feel to be a godmother to five kids now?" Rick inquired about her feelings on King Aikka and Queen Eva announcement concerning her future position.

She was silently glad that her father decided to divert their attention on to blissful news that dealt with her.

"I am excited! I am happy that I would even be chosen for that kind of responsibility." Natalie expressed her genuine opinion about the situation.

"Yes that is a weight that you will have to bear but at least you do not have to carry it alone since you have Minato's assistance." Rick answered with a small smile on his face.

Natalie's cheeks tinted pink after processing what her father just told her, _'Oh…I think I know what it is now.'_

"I guess so, but it seems as if I just can not get away from him. Why is that? Why can't I have another twelve-year break? This is so frustrating!" Natalie start to vent about Minato after her father mentioned his name.

Rick could not help but to laugh at all the inquires that Natalie was directed his way once he mentioned that name, "You two were simply made for one another…"

He observed his daughter protest against his previous statement, "There is no way that we were made for each other! How can you say something like that?"

"Shush, now listen to me did you ever wonder why Minato and Namikaze visited our home as often as they did?" Rick posed to his daughter.

"Ah come on dad, don't tell me its because…" Natalie held up her hands waving at him as if to signal him to cease.

"Well that is one of the many reasons why but I would be lying if I said it was not the primary motive." Rick answered with the same smile evident on his face.

"Oh I refuse to sit here and listen to this. I am so totally gone." Natalie said, as embarrassment was evident on her face and in her choice of words.

'_Like I said…there was something that changed between them…kids…' _Rick thought to himself after getting a good laugh from his daughter Natalie.

0000

Minato made his way down the same hallway that Natalie just came from when he was deep in thought, _'I wonder why Natalie could not look me in the face?'_

"Hey Minato," a voice snapped him out of his thoughts when he glanced over to where he heard someone had called out his name.

He saw that Queen Eva was currently in a wheelchair while observing the twins playing in the courtyard.

It was then that he noticed that it was Eva who called his name, "Yeah come over here, I need to talk to you about something."

Minato did not have second thoughts about going or not and made his way over to where Eva was currently sitting, "Hello there Minato, you look…radiating today?"

'_Radiating? What is she suggesting?' _he thought to himself while looking for any signs of something to give Eva's purpose away.

"Can I ask you a question, Minato?" Eva asked while continuing her watch on her current responsibilities.

"Sure anything, what has been nagging at you Eva?" Minato asked in a polite tone before opting to take a seat next to Eva.

"How where you able to find Natalie?" Eva inquired right off the rip, which suited her straightforward personality.

Minato glanced over to see Eva's facial expression and saw that she was really serious about what she just asked him.

"How can I explain it…I was talking to someone when they said something and it hit me where she could possibly be." Minato answered while lying back until his back felt the grass.

"Oh okay then," Eva answered in almost an indifferent tone towards Minato. "I was wondering how long have you known Natalie?"

Minato sat up after hearing the question and placed his elbow on his propped knee, "I would say about twelve years now."

Eva faked shock, "So out of all these years that we have known each other and you never told me that you knew Natalie for that long?"

"My apologies but we weren't on good terms with one another and I was surprised to see her when I came back to the castle." Minato answered her question not aware that his tone had wavered a little.

Eva was surprised at his answer and tone he used with her "I mean, I have known her every since she was eight years old. You would have at least thought that we would have still been in touch with one another but it was as if she did not want to see or speak to me at all."

"Do you have any idea of why she could have been upset and not talk or even converse with you for that elongated period?" Eva inquired about the reason for them not talking.

Minato glanced over to Eva before shrugging his shoulders, "Who knows, you of all people should be familiar with the fact that Natalie does not keep her life as an open book. There is something that I did recognize is that for some reason every time I came to visit she would never be present."

'_That is because she is love with you…' _Eva thought to herself after hearing Minato's statement.

"I have one question for you Eva and I need your brutally honest opinion on this." Minato set her up with the question that he wanted to ask her.

Eva gave him a weird look before letting it pass as her curiosity was getting the best of her now, "Minato, I know that with my kind of personality then the question that you are about to ask me is to answer."

'_If you say so Queen Eva.' _He thought to himself before releasing a sigh from his mouth.

"Do you think Natalie and I would make a decent couple? I mean I do not know where this idea popped up in my head but I feel as if I can trust you with this question." Minato asked his question.

0000

"Oh excuse me, I did not mean to run into…_you_." Natalie paused when she realized whom she ran into.

Golden light appeared within her vision, when she did not know how to react to what she saw before her.

Before Natalie could mumble even a sentence let only a word, Jordan beat her to the punch, "I know that we don't have a good history together but can you at least spare me a civil conversation for once."

Natalie remained quiet before silently agreeing to what Jordan just proposed to her. _'I can at least give him one conversation and I do mean just one.' _

"Alright you can go ahead with what you want to tell me." Natalie gave him the verbal go ahead while crossing her arms across her chest.

Jordan let out a sigh of relief seeing as Natalie was willing to at least comply with some kind of standards that he set out. "First off I wanted to tell you welcome back since it was awfully quiet around here."

Natalie could feel a throbbing in her temples, "What are you trying to get at Avatar?"

"Have you ever had that companion that you can always seem to trust no matter what? That they were so willing to give up there needs just to help out another's selfish desire? It is weird because you never really know their intentions for the other but when it is revealed it is such a beautiful thing?"

'_What is he getting at with that?' _she thought after hearing what the Avatar just asked her.

It was then that it hit her with the question that he directed towards her, for some reason Minato face emerge headfirst in her contemplation. _'Ugh…'_ she tensed at that thought.

Jordan observed her reaction and could tell that she had withdrawn into her own little world debating with her consciousness and subconscious mind.

"You know I did not mean it for you to go deep in thought and zone out on me." He told her after he touched the top of her head with his hand.

"Look…you are lucky to just be standing in front of me at the moment. If you don't remove your hand from atop my head then you will not like what will happen next. I guarantee you that." Natalie's voice was low but loud enough for Jordan to hear her.

He removed his hand after seeing the dark anger vibes Natalie was given off in his direction, _'No wonder she is feared by men.' _

"My apologies, I got ahead of myself in this conversation but there seems to be some tranquility in your aura that is soothing to me." Jordan apologized for pushing the boundaries with Natalie.

Natalie gave him a strange look after hearing what he just told her, _'Tranquility? It is soothing to him?' _

"Trust me that is something that you will not understand unless you were in my place. Anyway, I shall take my leave before I ruin what good favors that I find myself in. Wouldn't you agree with me on that?" Jordan asked while looking at her dead in her face.

"If you say so, besides I have other things that will gladly occupy my time and my thoughts. Where do you go off asking and saying such bizarre things to someone that doesn't like you?" Natalie questioned before she walked away.

Jordan tilted his head to the right before returning his head back to its normal position and shrugged his shoulders, "I can not tell you that. You have to find that out on your own."

"Wait a minute, first you claim that you wanted to have a civil conversation then you go spurting out nonsense about having a close friend and then you claim that there is some peace in my aura. Then you declare that you cannot tell me. What kind of stunt are you pulling this time Avatar?"

Jordan just simply turned his back on the raving girl and had a small frown evident on his face, _'I cannot tell you because you already know the answer to that question. You are simply in denial about the fact.' _

'_I swear he has more sides to him then this entire castle.' _Natalie thought to herself in frustration before groaning and rubbing her temples to stop her headache.

0000

"Alright you two it is time to come inside now," Eva shouted towards her twins when she directed her attention toward the darkening sky.

"Come on Kiera, lets go mother is calling." Kieran told his sister after looking over his shoulder towards his mother.

"Good. I was starting to getting tired." Kiera responded before stifling a yawn with her hand.

"Hey what do you think about Minato and Natalie?" Kieran asked his twin sister.

Kiera shrugged her shoulders giving him a physical answer instead of a verbal one. "Why you ask me that?"

Kieran glanced over his shoulder again, "I do not know if it is just me but I saw both Natalie and Minato talking to mom in a short period of time."

"Oh I see now," Kiera responded while placing the bottom of her fist in her open palm, "Yeah I saw it too. What do you think?"

Kieran turned his attention back to his twin, "I don't know myself. I think they like each other."

"Is that so?" Kiera asked with delight in her tone. "I like where this is going with those two are going."

"I can not say that I am a little jealous of Minato though." Kieran answered his twin's question.

"Well then you have no other choice but to profess your crush your undying love." Kiera joked with her brother who laughed at the notion.

"I believe that it will pass but let's hurry up. We don't want mom to stress herself to much, now do we." Kieran asked his sister.

"Nope or she might go into labor early and that is bad news for our next brother or sister." Kiera added into what her twin said.

The twins ran full speed towards their mother with wide smiles on their faces.


	26. A Night Communion

"To answer your question Minato…" Eva glances up catching Minato's attention once again, "You guys won't make a _decent_ couple."

Minato flashes her a disheartened look on his face, "I think you guys would make a _wonderful_ couple. If you ever doubt your feelings for her, I will personally beat you up myself, got it?"

From the deadpan expression she had on her face, he knew she was quite serious with her threat and would probably plan to follow through it once she gave birth.

He could not help but to wear a smile on his face after hearing her statement, "Then I will not ask you again, I will take my leave then."

By the time the twins make their way over to where she was waiting for them in her wheelchair, "Did you two enjoy yourselves?"

The twins nods their heads up and down in synch with one another, "When can we go back to Master Canaan?"

Eva looks at both of her children and could see a little bit of her and Aikka blended together to make the two standing in front of her, "Mommy, you are zoning out!"

"Oh, I have had a lot on my mind lately but you two can go tomorrow, Minato and Natalie will walk you there together." Eva announces to her twins when she realizes that she had made a plan in her head.

Kiera and Kieran stares at one another, when their mother was staring off in a daze, giving each other a high five as if they already have their very own plan formed for the pair.

Small smiles were the only thing evident on their faces as it held more then what a normal bystander would understand.

0000

Natalie was trying to process what all her father had just told her while she was sitting in his office, _'All that time I thought it was only because he wanted to train under my father but it never crossed my mind that their motive would be that.'_

She rubs the temples of her forehead as she could feel a slight headache coming on recalling all of the memories that dealt with her and Minato.

Her stomach begins to growl at her since she did not properly feed it in the past day or so, _'I can at least stop by the kitchen to grab something to eat.'_

While on her way in the direction of the kitchen, she runs into Princess Mai, who seemed to be on the same mission as her, to get something to eat.

"Princess Mai!" Natalie exclaims when she notices the princess, which causes Mai to turn her head and was in awe that it was Natalie who had called her.

When Natalie manages to catch up to where Princess Mai was standing with a wide smile present on her face, "It is so good to see that you are back. I asked that Minato fellow where you were when you were gone."

Natalie slightly froze after hearing what Princess Mai just told her, "I am well. I just needed a break from the life of a solider that's all."

Mai nods her head to show that she agrees with what Natalie told her, "You look well rested. Sometimes resting is the best remedy, at least that is what my mother told me. Are you on your way to get something from the kitchen?"

"Yes, I am. Are you heading there as well?" Natalie inquires when she remembered that the girl in front of her would be what would spark the Krogs invasion of her homeland, Noursaia.

Natalie could tell by her reaction that the kitchen was where she was not planning to go to, "It seems as if our location is the same, would you care to join me for dinner?"

"That would be nice." Mai answers Natalie's question as the duo soon makes their way inside of the large dining hall that belonged to the Royal Family.

0000

Rick opted that a little trip to the dining hall would do him some justice since he had been swamped in so much work that he almost forgotten to take care of his own health.

He looks on the side of his desk to see a pile of signed papers with his signatures on them, as a sigh of relief left his mouth while leaning back in his chair.

'_Now all that is left is just sending those off…I guess I can use Minato and Natalie to deliver this for me.' _

The thought of those two brings a small smile to his face when he remembered how the two always use to spar each other at the end of their visit. _'Now that was something that I could look forward to.' _

His stomach growled at him for not feeding it properly, _'There still is a lot left to do but at least I got some of it done.' _

He raise to his feet after pushing the chair from underneath his legs, rounds his desk and made his way out of his office.

'_Maybe there will be something interesting happening in one of the soldiers' report when I come back from lunch.' _

The minute he exits his office he ran into Minato, who seemed to be walking in the same direction as he was, "Minato" "Rick"

"I wanted to thank you for finding and bringing Natalie back home." Rick thanks the blonde haired boy, who was currently walking beside him.

"It was the least that I could do for such a close friend of mines and my master." Minato accepts Rick's sincere statement while still remaining humble.

He could not help but to have a small smile at that statement, "Well while we are speaking on Namikaze, he recently sent me a letter stating the purpose for his to return the castle."

Minato pauses after hearing the good news, "So that means he has finished his rounds then. It would be good to see Master Namikaze again after three years."

"I agree. We will make sure that he has a nice stay here but anyway Natalie was in my office earlier and I revealed to her why you and Namikaze visited us as often as you did." Rick hints as he anticipated the facial expression that Minato would have when he told him the real reason to their visits.

Minato wore a look of confusion etched on his face, "I thought that it was for his breaks from traveling and spend sometime with an old friend."

"Well I told Natalie earlier so you can ask her about it when you see her. By the way, are you heading to the kitchen?" Rick finally asks where was Minato heading off.

He elected to physical answer that question with a nod of his head in a yes manner, "Good just checking that's all."

0000

The entire castle seems to be convening in the dining hall but it was a normal thing since it was dinnertime and there were some stomachs that needed to be filled.

Natalie takes her regular seat, which was the third seat off to the left of the head of the table while Princess Mai settles in her seat uncomfortably in front of her.

The pair glances up to see that King Aikka was making his way into the dining hall, "Good afternoon ladies, are you enjoying this nice weather we are having in Noursaia?"

Natalie was careful to observe Princess Mai's actions and her response, "My people bragged about the weather every time they would visit Noursaia, now I see what they are talking about."

'_Did her voice just go up another octave?' _she thought after comparing the tone Mai usually uses with her and the tone she was now using towards King Aikka.

"It's not something unusual for us since it is making its way around to the spring months now." Aikka explains to Mai ignoring the change in her tone.

"I would agree most. It seems as if we are going to have some spring babies since they are kicking the crap out of my stomach." Eva's voice was heard among the trio.

Natalie then notices that Princess Mai's sudden burst of enthusiasm was cut short causing her to slouch a little in her chair. _'She is really infatuated with King Aikka.' _

"Good afternoon Natalie and Princess Mai," Eva greets the other two, who were sitting among her husband at their rather long rectangular shape table.

The pair managed a good afternoon, when Natalie can feel that something was missing, "Where are the twins?"

Bouts of laughter and sounds of feet running against the stone like material catches Natalie's sense of sound, _'Oh there they are...'_

"It seems as if Rick and I have come across two lost kids that were running a muck in the castle." Minato's voice can be heard along with the noise of quiet present.

Eva exchanges looks between Natalie and Minato and then there it was displayed to her that the two had formed some kind of connection with one another.

"You two, sit." Eva orders her children in a stern tone, as the twins immediately ceases their horse playing and straighten up.

Aikka could not help but smile at how his wife manages to keep control over their kids from a wheelchair. She then clears her throat, which catches the twins' attention again.

"Good afternoon Princess Mai, Natalie, Minato, Sir Rick, Princess Mai, mommy and daddy." The twins greeted everyone before taking their seats at the dining room table.

"Queen Eva, Prince Kieran and Princess Kiera are well disciplined. Women from my kingdom should take a lesson or two from you." Princess Mai claims after witnessing Eva's iron fist towards her twins.

Eva could not help but to laugh a little at Mai's statement, "Its just a thing called tough love. I learned that a lot while growing up."

Everyone else filed in the empty seats that were available with Rick sitting to the left of Princess Mai and Minato claiming the seat next to Natalie.

"Dinner will be out momentarily the chef is putting the finish touches on the dishes." A servant announces after seeing the dining hall filled with hungry people for dinner.

"If that is all then it is fine." King Aikka says before the servant dismisses themselves back into the confinements of the kitchen.

Eva scans the room that held her closes friends, family, and diplomatic relations, "I would like to make a announcement."

Those who were sitting at the table causing the attention to go towards Queen Eva including her very own husband King Aikka, who was focused in on her as well.

"As you all know spring is right around the corner which means it is almost time for the annual Dance of the Flowers Ball that will be held here. In true Noursaia fashion, we would like to extend an invitation to Princess Mai's kingdom as well as some of the military officials to participate in this ceremonial event." Eva made her announcement.

Natalie and Minato eyes turned to face Rick, who serves as not only the head of the Royal Guards but the Knights of the Round and the entire military as well and could speak on their behalf. "It would be not only a honor of the Royal Guards, Knights of the Round _and_ the military to take part in the Dance of the Flowers."

The pair silently cheered at the fact that Rick accepted the invite, "My kingdom would be honored to attend such a prestigious event."

After receiving the go ahead from both sides, Eva speaks up again, "It is within the time span of two weeks from now that should be enough time to send word to your kingdom correct?"

Princess Mai nods her head in agreement to the plan by then the servants makes their way into the dining hall with plates of steaming hot food.

"Well then since that is settle, let's eat." Aikka proclaim to the people who sat in front of him.

0000

Dinner was now coming to an end, as those who were still in the dining room soon dismiss themselves back to their rooms.

Natalie needed a break from the crowd but was appreciative that they put her running away on the back burner and focused on more positive things.

"Hey Natalie wait up!" she pauses when she hears some calling out her name asking her to stop.

She pauses in the middle of her stride and glances over her shoulder to see a tuff of blonde hair making its way towards her.

"I see you haven't lost your speed after all this time." He jokes with her causing a small smile to appear across her face when he said that.

"Or it could be that you are becoming slower with old age." She teases which cause him to flash her, his wide toothy grin.

"You may be right. I'm starting to feel it now." He adds as he points to his chest for added effect.

Natalie shakes her head at the older boy's actions, "I was just talking to your dad before we came into the dining room."

She slightly freezes up after hearing what Minato just told her, _'Could he have told him the reason why they visited us?'_

"He mentioned that my master, Namikaze, you remember him don't you?" he poses to her while looking her in the face as she nods her head up and down in a yes fashion.

"Yeah, how can I _not_ forget that perverted old man with the blazing orange hair and the fine taste for wine and sake _plus_ women." Natalie claims with her arms folded across her chest.

Minato knew that was how Natalie would describe his master, "That's the one! Your father told me that he was finishing up his rounds before coming back and with the timing of Queen Eva's announcement, he will be back in time for the Dance of the Flowers."

Natalie silently huffs at the though while rolling her eyes, "If you say so but Minato," She pauses.

"Yes, what is it Natalie?" he asks surprised that she just stopped in the middle of her statement.

"If there is something that you want to ask me then go ahead. I am all ears, you know?" Natalie poses to him.

"Rick told me that I should ask you about…."


	27. Determination

Jordan opted not to attend dinner since his discomfort would have been pretty obvious, _'If I have to sit through one more dinner with Natalie paying attention to Minato more then me. I will personally wring his neck.' _

A stroll through the castle was his next best choice and chose to eat a late night snack that the chief would more then gladly supply him with.

He had to admit that the castle was rather quite quiet during Natalie's absence however once she returned the spirit of the castle seemed to be uplifted.

'_Except for the fact that Minato was the one that found her and not me.' _He thought to himself as his fists clench together from anger.

'_Why am I allowing this girl to upset me so much?' _he ask himself when he realize that he was anger for once ever since his transformation from a human being to Avatar.

'_Its rather quite_ _simple. It's because she makes you feel as if you were human again.' _The thought emerged from his subconscious mind.

He recall her facial expression that she sent his way when in that instant their eyes connected with one another. _'She seemed completely uninterested in my title nor my looks.' _

'_Not only that but she saw right through my disguise even though it was fairly obvious but everyone else fell for it.' _He thought to himself when he remembered how he had to barter information for a date with the raven-haired green-eyed woman.

'_It was then that she had turned your attack against you revealing some of your own personal darkest secret.' _He could hear himself say.

'_Indeed she's one of a kind…' _he inwardly thought since he never had one of his attacks used against him let only allow someone into the darkest corners of his mind.

'_Yet you just had to be the jerk that you typically are and pushed her away. What am I going to do with you?' _he hears himself belittling himself.

He merely continues on his stroll through the corridors of Noursaia kingdom Royal family castle while waging war on his own conscious.

0000

Aikka pushes his wife in a wheelchair along the smooth floors of her adopted home that she came to love as her personal own home.

"I didn't know you were going to take the initiative to start preparations for the Dance of the Flowers." Aikka tell his wife once they made it to the confinements of the master bedroom.

"If you want something done then you should do it yourself." Eva simply response before Aikka help her out of the wheelchair and onto the surface of the bed.

She releases a heavy and labored breath at the sudden change of direction for her body, "Are you alright?"

She open both her eyes to see her husband's concerned face, "It was just that the sudden movement caught me off guard but I'm fine."

"Are you sure that you still want to plan the Dance of the Flowers?" Aikka pose when he shift her feet onto the surface of the bed.

Eva glance up at him, "It's the only ball that I get to plan for! But knowing your mother...she would want me to rest so I wouldn't strain the health of your children."

She notice that Aikka's facial expression was that of his mother would generally wear, "Alright...I will plan alongside with your mother but there is something that I want to be in control of though."

"Whatever it is that you want you can do it. I'm sure my mom would agree with whatever your plan maybe." Aikka respond after he push the wheelchair off toward the closet. He then made his way onto the bed.

"I can't wait to drop this load. They're starting to feel really heavy." Eva redirect the topic of their conversation knowing all to well that Aikka love to talk about pregnancy or the mentioning of their unborn children.

Aikka could only smile after hearing what Eva said since she knew that he loved to talk about having kids in order to extend his family line.

"I haven't forgotten that we agreed to a one year break after this pregnancy but that might be too hard to do." Aikka comment since he had a feeling that that was the reason as to why Eva brought the subject up.

She ruffles his mop of hair with one of her hands and claim, "That's why I love you so much."

0000

"Rick told me that I should ask you about something very important." He confronts her with a serious look on his face.

'_Don't tell me dad told Minato about what I just found out already?' _She thought to herself as she silently prayed hard that her thought was not true.

"Like I said earlier, go ahead I'm all ears?" She unknowingly repeats part of her question. Natalie mentally slap herself for setting herself up for the kill.

"Remember when we were younger, how my master and I use to visit you two." Minato start the flashback as Natalie mentally groan at how correct her thought process was.

"Yeah, how can I forget when you two use to always pop up out of the blue at our door with wide toothy smiles…" Natalie responds as she silently hope that he would not ask her _that _question.

"Those were the good times weren't they? Anyway, Rick told me that there was another reason as to why we were always meeting each other. Can you tell me what that is?" Minato pose to Natalie.

Natalie merely about faced, start off in a fast walking pace, and proclaim, "I don't feel like answering that question right now."

Minato was caught off guard by her response seeing as Natalie was always upfront with him whenever he would ask her question.

'_Please don't tell me he saw it…' _she thought to herself referring to her now pink cheeks as she keeps her head down the entire time.

"Come on now," Minato beg her as he manage to match her short strides with his long ones, "Why can't you tell me?"

"I don't feel like it." She answers as she refuse to look at his face and yield him an answer to his question.

"Since when did you _not_ feel like telling me what is on your mind?" Minato ask still in shock that Natalie was avoiding the question.

"Starting now. I don't see what the big deal is about the question you asked me?"

"So why don't you answer the question? If it isn't a big deal." Minato attempt to coax the answer out of her.

"Simple because I don't feel like it okay. If you keep pushing me then I won't give you the answer." Natalie rebuff his question with a threat.

"Is it anything dealing with _our _relationship?" he pause in his steps as that seem to be the last thing he could think of that would cause her to avoid him.

His question cause her to cease in her attempt to escape as her back was still turned away. She glances over her shoulder to see that he had a serious expression on his face when he told her that.

"Look...it's starting to get late and I need some sleep. If it is bothering you that much I will fill you in tomorrow." She propose to him as that seem to be the only way to get him off of her back.

"Alright then, I will see you _first_ thing tomorrow morning." He knew that if he continued to push then she would shut down completely.

Natalie knew she was able to create her golden opportunity to leave since she knew how persistent Minato can be when it comes down to something he wants to know.

'_That was too close…' _she thought to herself on the way back to her room.

0000

The night soon shift into the day as all those who reside on Noursaia count their blessings, say their daily prays, and exchange sentences of love to their loved ones before starting the day.

Natalie was getting the vibe that someone was watching her in her sleep as she was slow to open her eyes.

"Good morning." She can hear someone greet her when she rub the sleep out of her eyes with one hands. She sit up and turn to the direction of the voice.

'_Is that Minato?' _she thought to herself om disbelief. She blinks a couple of times before she realized how close their faces were to one another.

This cause a delayed reaction for Natalie as she jump back from the surface of the bed and away from Minato. At that moment, she had forgotten that the bed was only so wide that she immediately came crashing down on to the floor.

"Natalie, are you alright?" Minato inquires after he observed what just happened to Natalie.

She gently rubs the spot where she landed on the hardest while she repeats stifled "Ouchs" as if it were to verbally soothe the pain.

"Could you be any more forward this morning?" Natalie complains as she was focused in on her current pain.

"You of all people should know how I am. I said I would see you _first_ thing tomorrow morning yesterday." Minato explain his current presence in Natalie's room.

She knew he had a point and silently hated that part of him. "You want to know something...you really are difficult."

"I just wanted to know the answer to my question from yesterday. So spill it out." Minato declares not realizing how close his face was to hers.

Natalie release a sigh seeing as she could no longer continue to maneuver around answering the million dollar question.

"Since you insist upon hearing the reason as to why we always met when we were little was because…" Natalie was cut off when the two glance up to see Princess Mai currently standing at Natalie's door.

"Oh," Mai comment when she observe Natalie currently sitting on the floor with Minato's face close to hers and slightly hovering over her in a protective stance.

"Did I interrupt anything?" Mai quips in an innocent manner at what she was currently a witness to.

Natalie closes her eyes before answering her question. "No, Minato just came in to check on me when he heard me roll out of my bed and hit the floor."

Mai seem to accept that as a good excuse and respond, "I guess I will just see you at breakfast then."

Minato's attention turn back to Natalie once Princess Mai left them alone, "You can continue with answering the question."

"My father and your master thought it would be fun to conduct a little experiment with the both of us. So they conjured up the idea of playing matchmaker. They thought that we suited each other since we were polar opposites. My dad told your master that opposites attract but your master denied it and so we just serve as their little guinea pigs to see who was right." Natalie explain to him all while avoiding looking him directly in his face.

Minato could not help but to laugh at what Natalie just told him. Natalie open one of her eyes to see that Minato was cracking up in hysteria after hearing the answer to his question.

"Those two…are very...sneaky." He says in between bouts of laughter.

Natalie could not help but to shake her head at him for still being the goofy blond haired twit that she grew up with. She soon finds herself laughing along with him and his infectious laughter.

By then the two was not aware that a maid had entered in to the bedroom. "Lady Natalie and Sir Minato, the King and Queen want to see you two in their quarters."


	28. Plans In Action

Aikka and Eva was already waiting for them to enter their private bedroom since the pair was known to be quite the stickler for being punctual to meetings.

"Good morning, Minato and Natalie!" The pair offers their personal greeting towards the couple that stood before their eyes.

"Good morning, King Aikka and Queen Eva." The two returns their separate forms of greeting the higher ranked individuals in the room.

"It seems as if we caught you two at a good time." Eva jokes when she observe that Natalie was in her nightclothes while Minato was dressed for the day.

Natalie glances down before blushing out of embarrassment at the clothes that she was currently wearing in front of her King and Queen.

"My apologies. I was still asleep when the servant relayed the message on to me." Natalie explains to Aikka and Eva with a red face as the reason why she was currently in her pajamas.

Eva suppresses her laughter before waving at the girl, "Its quite alright. You don't have to be embarrassed. Its perfectly fine as you can see I am currently still in mines."

"The reason why you were summoned is because we would like a favor that only the two of you can complete." Aikka states as he directs their attention toward him.

"I am sure that Natalie and I will be able to handle whatever you throw at us." Minato speaks up for the pair, which causes Eva to giggle.

"Aren't they just so cute together, Aikka?" Eva inquires toward her husband, which causes an awkward moment to arise between the pair.

"Anyway, we would like for you two to escort Kieran and Kiera to Master Canaan for their lessons." Aikka return the conversation back to its original purpose.

"Consider it done." Natalie answers this time for the two before the pair quickly exited the private bedroom of the King and Queen.

Eva glances up at her husband with a disappointed expression on her face, "I was trying to make them realize that they like each other and you could have went along."

"I did too. I sent them on the mission together or I could have sent Natalie with Jordan to make Minato upset." Aikka reasons with his wife about his portion of the plan.

"I believe you're plotting on your end. Why didn't I think of that?" Eva says the latter part more to herself rather then her husband.

Aikka just flashes his wife a toothy grin before she snuggles as close to him as her stomach would allow her to.

0000

"Why are you walking so fast, Natalie?" Minato inquires as the raven-haired woman was walking at an incredible fast pace away from him.

"That's because I don't feel comfortable around you!" She wanted to say but instead it came out like this, "I don't want to be seen in my nightclothes you idiot!"

"Oh...so now I'm an idiot?" Minato repeats after he heard the moinker she used for him as he was trying to catch up to her fast strides.

When Natalie turned the corner, she came face to face with none other than the Avatar himself.

There was a sense of quietness between the pair as no words, phrases, or sentences were exchanged between the two.

The only thing that could be heard was Minato calling out Natalie's name until he observed the reason why she paused in her fast stride.

"Good morning!" Minato greets him as he personally was not a fan of silence let alone being visibly mean towards an ally.

Minato noticed that when Jordan returned the greeting he was focused in on the woman that stood at his side.

"So how about we head on back so we can get the kids and go." Minato mentions to Natalie while placing his arm around her shoulder breaking her out of her deadlock staredown with Jordan.

"Yeah you're right…can't keep them waiting now can we?" Natalie asks him as she looking up at Minato's face.

Minato then guided the woman in his arm around the golden figure that stood off to his left before they exchanged looks with one another.

"Thanks Minato. I owe you one." Natalie's voice can be heard once they were a good distance away from Jordan.

Minato could tell that Natalie was truly thanking him before responding with "No problem at all, besides I'm the only one who you can't find annoying."

Natalie merely laughes at Minato's statement not realizing that he was being completely serious with his statement.

For some reason, Natalie found herself not being bothered by the fact that Minato's arm was still around her shoulder even after they walked away from Jordan.

She closed her eyes before releasing a sigh while thinking, _'What am I doing?'_

0000

Kieran and Kiera made their way to the dining room since they knew it was around the time for the chef to be serving breakfast to the family and the guests at the castle.

"I hope we get to go back to Master Canaan. It's been boring lately." Kiera complains as she strolls down the hallway with her twin at her side.

"Its too many adults in here with problems…." Kieran explains and points out the source of them being bored.

"While we're talking about that do you think that Minato and Natalie would be a great couple?" Kiera inquires towards Kieran.

"No I don't think so," he answers in a blunt tone.

"That's right. If I was able to put my crush aside clearly you can as well seeing as it will never happen but you should at least hope for the best for her." Kiera reasons once she turns to face her twin to see that her was acting defiant.

A couple of seconds later, Kieran's face cracks revealing his normal facial expression "Okay, fine then…"

"I knew it!" Kiera proclaims while pointing at her twin with her index finger.

"I am tired of talking about them _again_." Kieran comments as he personally wanted to change the subject from Minato and Natalie to something else.

Kiera visibly huffs at how her brother was acting like the fun police now before complying with his wish. "Fine but what about Princess Mai?"

"She hasn't done anything yet remember." Kieran reminds his twin about Princess Mai's actions.

"I think we should still tell mommy and daddy." Kiera suggest while the two glance at each other.

"Let's tell them before we leave for the day." Kieran proposes an appropriate time for them to tell their parents about their recent and shocking discovery.

The pair made it to the steps that would lead them to the kitchen when the aroma from the dining hall caught their attention which caused Kiera to exclaim, "I smell food!"

"We so totally have excellent timing." Kieran stated before they slid down the banister of the steps and strolled in side of the dining room.

0000

A knock can be heard at Rick's door as he once again begin to shuffle through papers that were apparent on his desk before saying, "Come on in."

"Are you busy?" the voice inquires as Rick already knew who the voice belonged to.

"Come on in now," he repeats with his eyes still glued onto the content of the papers, "you don't have to ask take a seat."

"I'm actually surprised that you seem rather…docile compared to how Natalie views you." Rick mentions before turning his attention to his guest.

Jordan merely closes his eyes and relaxes in the seat across from Rick, "I took a journey to the Noursaia Priest Water Fountain but I'm sure my personality will return to me within a couple of hours."

"I can't help but to notice how I saw Natalie and Minato walking together at a close distance with one another." Jordan mentions to Rick, as it was not far from the truth.

"Is that so?" He question in a unfaze tone before he comments, "It seems as if Minato attached himself to her _again_. But if you want to know some thing your jealously is pretty evident my friend." Rick already had a feeling as to the real reason why Jordan was sitting before him.

Jordan lifts both of his hands, palms facing towards Rick, "It seems as if I'm caught red handed on that one. My thing is I just don't want her to hate me anymore if all else we could be cordial to one another."

'_So he doesn't deny being jealous but I don't think that that this will be the end of it between those two.' _Rick inwardly thought to himself about Jordan's recent actions.

"I don't think she hates you. She is just very annoyed by you and your presence. As far as being cordial, I raised her on that notion and so it will take you some time."

Jordan nods his head to show that he understood what Rick was telling him, "But before I go I should at least explain to you how your daughter caught my attention. When I first arrived, there was this young lady who stood before the King and Queen. She glanced over her shoulder to look at me before she turned back to face them. At that moment, I felt as if I was just another human being not…this. If you live the life I have Rick then you would appreciate if someone give you a look as if you were human."

Rick slightly pauses for a moment allowing the comment that Jordan left him with completely sink in. _'If that's how he has to justify his feelings to her so it will keep him sane fine by me but trying to persuade me into not allowing her to see Minato…plain misjudgment on his part.' _He thought to himself.

'_Now that I have Rick watching me and my movements around his daughter it makes getting rid of that blonde haired twit so much easier.' _Jordan thought after making his way out of Rick's office.

0000

Minato releases another sneeze but nothing came out as he rubs his nose with his index finger hoping that it would provide some type of relief.

"It seems as if you're coming down with a cold. You need to get that checked out." Natalie's voice was heard from behind the door.

"Is that concern that I hear from the Iron Fist Natalie?" Minato inquires to Natalie in a teasing manner.

"No…I just don't want to catch a cold let alone pass it on to Prince Kieran and Princess Kiera." Natalie says loud enough for him to hear.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, if you say so. I'm sure that I heard concern in your voice but I will let you have that one." Minato diffuses a possible arguement between the two.

Natalie unlocks the door, opens it without telling Minato to move, which causes him to fall on his back. "How about that for concern?"

"Touché." Minato faked surrender to Natalie, who merely stepped over him, and then offered him a hand.

"You should really quit acting like a baby! That's not a good look for you." Natalie tells him before releasing her hand from within his grasp.

"I don't act like a little baby." He pouts, which causes her to laugh at the current face he was making.

"Oh I almost forgot one thing," Natalie quickly mentions as this breaks Minato out of his portrayal of a baby, "Do I need to wait for you to go get it?"

"No it is not a item. I just want to thank you for helping me out with Jordan or the Avatar, I probably would have lost my rank and my sanity if it was not for you." Natalie thanks the male in front of her.

"Oh stop it...you're making me blush," Minato says as both of his hands were at his cheeks with a red tint apparent on his cheeks.

Natalie flashes Minato an odd look before noticing his face morphs into a serious expression, "Its no problem at all Natalie. I just don't like when people pick on you and trust me its not pretty when you get annoyed woman."

She tried to think about her expression on her face whenever she would be annoyed, "Does steam come out of my ears?"

"If that was physical possible then I am sure you will be smoky like a chimney in the winter time." Minato answers her question.

"Don't try and fret over it too much since I should say I am blessed to have not push those buttons and faced your wraith." Minato adds in with a wide smile on his face after his comment.

His statement causes Natalie to start thinking again about that, _'Minato does have a point…he does do some things that irritates me but I was willing to put up with it. Why is that?'_

"Hello? I think someone just zoned out on me." Minato jokes after removing his hand from in front of her face.

Natalie then having nothing else to say to her blonde haired companion, turns away from him and makes her way down the hallway.

Minato simply shrugs his shoulders before he takes off running down the hallway to catch up with Natalie.

'_I enjoy moments like this…'_


	29. Findings

Kieran and Kiera emerged from the dining hall with their tummies full of food and headed off in the direction to handle business.

They manage to retrace their steps until they were at the top of the staircase when they ran into none other than Minato and Natalie.

"Good morning, Prince Kieran and Princess Kiera," Minato had greeted them first with Natalie following suit.

The twins return the greeting to the older adults before Kiera asks, "Are you two suppose to be taking us to Master Canaan today?"

"Yes we are but we have to get something to eat first. So meet us back in the front of the castle in less than fifteen minutes from now." Natalie answers Kiera's question.

"Good we were on our way to see our parents anyway." Kieran informs the pair where they would be.

"That's fine by us." Minato states along with a nod of his head to show he understands the deal.

They step passed the twins as they soon made their way to the dining hall while the twins made their way to their parents' room.

0000

"Do you think we can have the doctor do an in-home visit today?" Eva inquires to her husband, who was currently changing out of his nightclothes and in to some more casual clothes for the day's tasks.

"I'm sure he is flexible since you are in the last months of your pregnancy." Aikka answers before sticking his head through the hole of his shirt.

"Good because getting up and moving around is becoming too tiresome." Eva mentions in her upright position.

Her statement causes her husband to laugh at her, "I'm sure you will be happy to drop the load right now."

"You got that right! All the abuse my stomach is taking would agree with you." She adds in while rubbing her hand against her enlarged stomach in a counter clockwise fashion.

"That's why I'm surprise that you still want to plan the Dance of the Flowers in your current condition." Aikka expresses his opinion before he walks back to their shared bed.

Eva shoots him a look, "What can I say? Usually your mom plans it and I just want to help her out a little."

Before Aikka could even response to his wife's statement, their bedroom door flies open revealing the culprit as their set of twins. They quickly dash inside and start hopping on the surface of the bed.

"Good morning you two, did you sleep well last night?" Aikka inquires when Kiera laid beside her mother while Kieran sat in the middle of the bed.

The twins nodded their head in synch when Eva spoke up, "Minato and Natalie will be walking you two to Master Canaan for your lessons today."

"They told us already." Kiera answered.

Aikka notices that his children were acting stranger than usual and could tell since they seem less energetic this morning.

"Kieran and Kiera," He calls out their names in a very serious tone causing them to look at him. "Is there something that you two need to tell us?"

The twins stare at each other, which instantly catches Eva's attention as well, "If you two saw anything let us know. We won't punish you if you tell us."

They both nod their heads in agreement before Kieran speaks up, "Well…we saw Princess Mai talking to a black rabbit telling them about the castle and how she had to keep spying on us."

Aikka and Eva stare at each other at what they were being told by their children. "Now what you two are telling us is nothing to joke around with."

"We're being serious dad, that lady is in love with you!" Kieran respond as this cause Eva to cover her mouth with her eyes wide open.

"We wouldn't lie to you about this!" Kiera declares while she looks back and forth at her parents' faces.

Aikka and Eva did not immediately response to what they were just told, "Listen very closely you two, what you just told us don't tell it to anyone else, do you understand? We will talk about this when you get back from your lessons."

"All right daddy," Kiera speaks up again as the twins removes themselves from their parents' bed before making their way to the front of their castle.

Aikka turn his attention toward his wife to see that for the first time since they were married that she did not look at him directly when she asked, "What are we going to do?"

0000

Natalie and Minato were making their way out of the dining hall when they watch the twins sliding down the banisters of the staircase.

"So are you two ready to leave?" Minato asks them once they meet back up in their designated meeting location.

The twins decide to physically show their response by nodding their heads when they notice Kiera had a rather indifferent expression on her face.

The traveling quad soon made their way across the courtyard after they made their exit through the front entrance of the castle.

Natalie walked closer to Kiera while Kieran walked on the right side of his twin while Minato walked on Kieran's left hand side.

"So Princess Kiera, are you excited to be going back to Master Canaan?" Minato inquires when Natalie notices the same expression from earlier appear on her face once again.

"She doesn't really care after what happened between her and Morose. She isn't excited as she usually is." Kieran provides the answer in turn for his twin.

Natalie and Mianto quickly exchange curious expression after hearing what Prince Kieran just told them.

"Is that so? Did you two get in to a fight with one another?" Natalie questions Princess Kiera, which causes her to glance up at the older woman.

"I figured that was the reason…so did you win?" Natalie asks causing a wide smile to appear on Kiera's face.

Natalie extended her arm toward Kiera with her palm out as Kiera awkwardly glanced at it before she slapped it with her own before she responded with, "That's my girl."

"You know Ms. Natalie and I used to fight each other when we were around your age." Minato adds in catching the others attention in the process.

"Minato," Natalie quickly hisses his name, which causes Prince Kieran to ask the following question, "She used to win, didn't she?"

Minato laughs to himself at how correct Prince Kieran was, "She sure did Prince Kieran, out of four serious fights that I had against her…she won three out of the four."

"That's because Natalie is so strong!" Prince Kieran exclaims causing Natalie to wear a prideful smile at the statement.

"I must admit…I did underestimate her the first time we went against each other but every time that I would lose to her I would train even harder to beat her. Besides, I had secretly wanted her to view me as her rival you know." Minato explains to the twins.

'_I didn't know that…' _Natalie mentally notes to herself after hearing what Minato told the twins about their shared past.

"So did you accept him as a rival?" Princess Kiera inquires to a rather distracted Natalie.

"Oh…" "…not at first and even after we fought for two more times I still didn't. It wasn't until the last time we fought each other did I finally accept him as a rival. I just thought he was some annoying boy, who was spineless and his master's pet." Natalie replies.

"So you two have been _friends_ for a very long time then?" Prince Kieran poses as the twins were now interested in the two older people's history together.

His question caused the pair to become quiet as if they wanted to avoid talking about that specific time of their _friendship_.

"Yep we sure have been." Minato responses while he outwardly chuckles at Kieran's question.

Natalie eyes no longer remained on the three but rather on the surroundings situated on her right hand side. _'In all out honesty…our friendship ended after that.' _

Luckily for her, they were now at the entrance of Master Canaan's building. The twins strolled inside of the compound before them.

"So you really viewed me as a rival after our last fight with one another?" Minato inquires since it was the first time he heard that from Natalie.

"Just like when you started training as a knight?" Natalie quickly rebuttals before they made their way into Canaan's compound.

0000

"You summoned me?" Rick asked once he entered the room before he knelt to one of his knees.

"Yes, there's something that I would like for you to investigate for us, Rick."

Rick raises one of his eyebrows before making his way back on to both of his feet, "Its sounds like something important, what can I do for you King Aikka?"

"My son and daughter just told Eva and me some very disturbing news about someone in this castle. They claim to have saw Princess Mai communicating with a black rabbit creature, which I would assume would be a Trog, and said to be discussing things about the castle." Aikka gave Rick the condense version of the story.

'_So Natalie's cautiousness about Princess Mai has paid off.' _Rick thought when he remembers his daughter was discussing something similar about the young lady, who was a guest at the castle.

"Not only that but she harbors some deep rooted affections for my husband." Eva adds in causing Rick's attention to turn to her before glancing at the King.

"I assure the both of you that I never traveled alone with her. I have always asked Minato to be by my side whenever she would request something of me." Aikka explains while observing what was going on outside of the window.

"Who does that little girl think she is for even having those thoughts in her head? She better thank god that I am pregnant or I would have dragged her face throughout _my _castle." Eva hisses while emitting a threatening aura.

"Eva, remember…" he reminds her of their unborn children as the aura dissipated for a minute but Rick knowing Eva for so long knew it was still there.

"When Minato and Natalie bring the twins back, we will need to discuss about our plans to handle the situation." Aikka spoke up again.

"I will relay the message onto them when they arrive back but I have one more question. What are we going to do about Jordan? He already has been causing trouble for others." Rick states pointing out the person, who could be a burden to their ability to handle Princess Mai.

"Rick is right. Jordan has the tendency to play both sides of the fence and can get under people skin easily, foils plot, and influence people." Eva outlines Jordan's characteristics.

"I know. That's why I always keep a close eye on him whenever he would _suddenly_ pop up out of the blue to come and _visit us_."

"Well then I shall take my leave but rest assured that we will be monitoring Princess Mai's actions much closer from now on." Rick assures his actions for the royal couple in front of him.

0000

Jordan felt a shift in atmospheric pressure, which caused him to look up at the sky, _'So it seems as if the planet completed a rotation.' _

He strolled through the castle as if it was his or at least he had envisioned it as his own. Then when he turned the corner _his _set of twins would run up to greet him with beaming smiles on their face as they tug on his arms fighting for his attention.

"Good morning!" He would return the greeting to them before glancing up to see his very pregnant wife, Eva, wheeling herself up to them before asking for a kiss on the cheek.

Instead he would place it on her lips before the family strolls through the castle before stopping at the dining hall to share brunch with each other and heads off to do an activity together.

Yes, Jordan thought it was a dream come true but if he was really in touch with reality then the sick man would realize that their was no way possible for that dream to come true.

"Avatar" he heard someone call him by his title as he had to fight back rolling his eyes at the person who called him by that.

"Oh good morning, Princess Mai, what can I do for you this morning?" Jordan inquires when he notices that it was the young princess who had called for him.

"What we discuss in the previous part of my visitation, I think we need to make our move now." She quickly answers.

"If you feel that strongly that today would be a good day then I will provide you with the necessary materials that you need." Jordan told her before a thought popped up in his head.

"I would advise you to declare that your visit here is over but before you do that I need to make a run to see King Aikka and Queen Eva." Jordan told her what his plan was.

Princess Mai nodded her head and comments "I will make it easy for you to find me."

'_She will serve as the scapegoat for this project…' _Jordan thought before making his destination the private bedroom that belongs to the King and Queen.

0000

"So I see that you two have blessed me with your presence again." Canaan joked when he saw Minato and Natalie had appeared in front of his entrance.

Natalie was wearing a small smile before responding, "This is the best place I know of to just relax."

"I try to keep a zen atmosphere since it is the best way to think and as you said to relax." He explains before showing them inside of his compound.

"At the end of this there is something that I need to ask you." Minato quietly whispers to his first master who merely nods his head to show he understood.


	30. Stumbled on the Past

Eva let out a sigh but the stress was still felt on her body after hearing what her son and daughter told her about Princess Mai.

'_So she thought that she would just waltz right in here and just take my husband away from me?' _Eva asked inwardly before feeling Aikka takes his place in _their _shared bed.

He places his arm across her shoulder and gently pulls her in to his chest, "Why does she want what I have?"

Aikka knew his wife was having a hard time processing what their children told them a couple of minutes ago. "On Noursaia, princesses are a dime a dozen but princes are extremely hard to find. Not only that but a women want a loving and dotting husband."

Eva glanced up at him when she heard him said that, "So you're just the hot ticket then? How lucky am I to have you?"

Aikka look towards his wife before answering her question, "How lucky am I to have you?"

That caused a wide smile to appear on her face when Aikka could feel a kick from Eva's stomach, "They seem rather eagered to come out in to the world."

Eva winced at the pain she just felt, "So am I, so am I. " she repeated when she felt Aikka gently rubbing her stomach, which helped to ease the pain.

"What are we going to do about Princess Mai?" Eva inquires about the thorn that was currently in her side.

"We will continue on as if we don't know anything about her true intentions for this family and our kingdom." Aikka states as he displays his resolve to his wife about the following days to come.

"I will be with you every step off the way then." Eva claimed before she placed her head on his chest as she enjoyed the beating sound of his heart.

0000

Kieran and Kiera was warmly welcomed back to the group that they were proud to call their friends…well that is all except for one.

"Its good to have you two back." Raul greets them first since he was the first person to acknowledge them by their names Kieran and Kiera instead of _twins_ or the _children of the Royal Family_.

"Same here." Kieran responded after Kiera exchanged a friendly hug with Raul.

"So what has the group been up to?" Kiera inquires about the activities that they miss due to the incident between her and Morose.

"We have been aiming at moving targets now." Raul provides an answer to Kiera's question.

The twins exchanged looks with one another, "Are these the regular targets or something like the hunter and deer game?"

"Regular targets. I have a feeling we won't be playing that game for a while." Raul explains to the twins as he cuts his gaze over to Kiera, who merely smiles at the notion.

"So did my enemy come back while we were gone?" Kiera suddenly inquires about the presence of Morose, who was not present at the moment.

"I think she has two more days before she can come back to train with us." Raul mentions before he kicks a rock across the ground's surface.

"Nice kick there." Kieran compliments his friend of his action, who quickly chimes in with a "Thanks"

"Good," Kiera answers before finishing her sentence, "that gives me a couple more days away from her."

"Shush you two, Master Canaan is coming." Raul suddenly warns the twins by placing one of his fingers over his lips causing them to seal their lips and end their current conversation.

"If everyone is finished with their warm up exercises then its time we start working on today's lesson." Master Canaan announces once he approaches the minors that he acknowledges his students.

'_It feels good to be back.' _The twins shares the exact same thought with each other as a small smile appears on each other's face.

0000

Natalie and Minato were left together in the tearoom with a piping hot cup of tea that Canaan had some of his servants make for them.

There was silence in the room the moment Canaan left the couple to themselves in order to start his lesson of the day with his students. "Why did you tell the twins about our past?"

Minato took a sip of his tea before answering Natalie's question, "It fit the situation that Princess Kiera was going through."

She shakes her head at Minato's logic of the situation, "It was completly inappropriate and irrelevant. Not to mention, you didn't ask me whether or not I wanted to disclose that information to the twins."

"What is your problem? You're making a big deal about something that already taken place years ago." Minato states, which causes Natalie to quickly down the hot liquid.

"You just don't get it do you?" Natalie mentions to Minato after completely downing her drink.

"What is it that I don't get Natalie?" he fires at the young woman in front of him. "Clearly, I thought you would have at least told me that you viewed me as a rival instead of finding out when we are freaking twenty years old!" Minato made sure not to raise his voice at Natalie but it was getting harder by the minute.

Natalie could not believe what was coming out Minato's voice, "You're not as innocent as you are making yourself out to be Minato! You knew all to well how badly I wanted to become a Knight of the Round. Yet you had failed to tell me that you were going to training with them."

'_Is that why she stopped talking to me?' _he inwardly asked himself.

It was true that he knew she wanted to share the same title as he had, but he knew from personal experience that the organization was not too keen on permitting females in their ranks. However, from his own opinion, Natalie could just as easily beat some of the knights, who currently held the position.

"I didn't find out that Master Namikaze began my campaign to secure one of the available seats. I was eagered to continue our visit with you and Master Rick for a long time but that wish didn't come true. Instead I was enrolled in one of their training courses to become a knight." He confesses to her since he felt obligated for her to know that he was just as surprised as she was.

Natalie felt a lump developed in her throat that left her unable to respond to what Minato just told her. "During the training course, I felt awful that some of the boys our age wasn't on the level as you were. I hated how you were cheated on your opportunity to become a knight alongside me."

Natalie still did not supply an immediate response to his question like she normally would instead she stared out in front of her.

"So can you forgive me for being insensitive to your dreams?" he inquires since he was finally able to lift the burden he held onto for seven years.

The expression on her face was one of awe, "All this time…we wasted holding on to a childish grudge we held for one another."

She turns to face him before uttering the words she wanted to tell him ever since they met up again, "I forgive you."

There was a quietness that settles among the pair that the sound of Canaan could be heard issuing out instructions to his students.

"So is it fine if we can start over _rival_?" he poses, which causes a small smile to appear across her face, "I don't see why not _rival_."

0000

Jordan decided that the best way for him to think of a well thought out plan was to remain in one place so he could fully concentrate on formulating his plan for Princess Mai.

When he managed to even out his breathing and closed his eyes an image conjured up in his mind. He faced a rather large wooden bulit house that was fit for someone of a high status.

He saw a man had stood on the outside portion of the house. He then walked around the house when the sound of music had stopped and started at different intervals.

When the man slid the door open the music ceased as Jordan interest peaked as he wondered, who the man had addressed.

"You played absolutely wonderful my dear." The man complimented whoever it was behind the shoji door. Jordan had assumed it was either his love interest or a child.

"Thank you daddy. I want to play for you and mommy." A little girl's voice was heard confirming that the man was a father to the little girl in the room.

He noted that the man hesitated in giving his answer but it did not seem to bother the little girl at all. "Daddy will arrange something."

The little girl expressed her sheer delight when she heard that her request would be fulfilled. She eagerly resumed learning her instrument while her father chose that time to leave his daughter alone.

Jordan saw that the man up close looked very familiar to him even though this was the "first" time that they met. _'He looks like someone I know. But who?' _

During his inner thoughts, he saw a woman with long curly red hair that remained Jordan of the red roses that bloomed on Earth.

The woman was visibly excited to see the man in front of her that she nearly ran him over, if it was not for him offering his hand to her.

'_That must be his wife…' _Jordan mentally notes when he noticed that the man observed his surroundings before he dropped his hand and the woman eloped him in a hug.

"My lord its good to see that you're in good health," the woman spoke in a whispered tone.

'_I wonder why they're whispering about over there?" _

The man leaned forward and gave the woman a peck on the cheek before he responded in a whispered tone, "I told you that we can't do this in front of her."

The woman gently slapped her head with the bottom of her palm, "I am sorry my Lord. I was just excited to see you. It has been a week since we were able to see one another."

He placed the palm of his hand against her cheek as she lovingly grabbed his hand and rubbed her cheek against it. "I miss you as well. I too silently long for another night to spend in your arms."

"Just wait a little bit longer my love. We will have another night shared together very soon." He claims in a quiet tone when she nodded her head to show she understood the agreement.

"Until we see each other again my _beloved_." She whispered under her breath to him before she walked past him and onto to her other household duties.

The man cut his eyes over to his daughter as she continues to play her sheet music when he decides to turn in the opposite direction that the woman came from.

'_Was he having an affair?' _he inwardly asked as his eyes wondered over to the little girl, who was unaware of what was going on outside of where she was studying her music.

Jordan felt as if someone had cranked up the heat as he could feel extreme heat radiating on to his back when he turned around to see the same wooden house burning in a fiery blaze.

"You stupid bastard! How could you lie to me? You're still in love with her!" the same woman with the red hair from earlier screamed. She held a extinguished match and a cannister dangles from her hand.

The building appeared as if it had collapse on itself. He spotted the man from earlier trapped underneath a heavy wooden pillar.

"I do! I still do love you!" the man shouted loud enough so that the woman could hear him.

"No, you don't! If you did you would have told me to keep _our _child instead of convincing me to get rid of it!" she shouted when another addition of the house came crashing down.

Another voice was heard that was filled with rage, "What's the meaning of this? How could you do such a thing to me when I loved you _unconditionally_! I even gave birth to our bundle of joy without you there and I come to find out that your sleeping with one of _our _housemaids!"

"I'm sorry that I messed up your family my lady but I fell in love with your husband! I can't control who I fall in love with!" She had screamed her response as the flames greedily licked at the house until its hunger was fulfilled.

"I can forgive you…but this ugh! I wish you could have perished in here without me!" the man's wife exclaimed at the woman, who had set their house on fire to drop the can in her hand.

'_What have I done? I only wanted him to suffer not the lady…' _she thought to herself.

'_You had no other choice but to eliminate her as well or she would have kept you from him.'_ A voice in the back of her head justified her actions.

'_So this lady acted on a crime of passion…' _Jordan concluded when he spotted something moving in the corner of his eyes in the far off distance.

Then there was a shadow that emerged from the house that was unknown to the woman who was crying a river of tears while pounding her fist into the ground until her hands became a bloody mess.

She let out an anguished scream that caused goose bumps to appear on his skin. He then makes his way over in the direction of the moving shadow.

"Where are we going? Where's mommy? Where's daddy?" the little girl shouted out questions concerning the location of her parents.

"My lady," a male voice called out as Jordan noticed that the young man had to take his time scaling down the steep slope with the little girl in his grasps while maintaining their stealth.

"You must remain quiet. If you don't we will be spotted and killed." He exclaimed, which caused the little girl to cover up her mouth with one of her hands.

When they were a good distance away from the home, the illumination of the burning building stood out to the pair.

They stood at the base of the mountains when they saw the fire no longer burning a bright color but rather it turned in to a dim light.

Jordan followed them down the mountain side and realized that they had their backs toward him when the servant had spoke to the little girl.

"Your parents are dead, Lady…"


	31. Altered History

Natalie and Minato sat in a comfortable silence as the pair without telling the other that they secretly enjoyed one another presence.

'_I'm so glad that we got pass that. I didn't know how much longer it would have lasted if neither one of us said anything.' _Minato inwardly thought as he kept his gaze locked in on Natalie.

'_Who would have thought that he felt that way?' _Natalie thinks as she simply stares at her now empty cup.

"Excuse me," a feminine voice quickly catches the pair attention. They cast their gaze toward the door to see a maid standing there with a kettle dangling from one of her hands.

"Would you two like some more tea?" the woman inquires silently gesturing to the black kettle that was currently in her hand.

"Yes we would." Minato replies for the both of them. His answer causes the maid to make her way around the table to pour the hot liquid in both of their cups.

"Thank you." Natalie quietly thanks the maid, who cheerfully smiles at the two before the maid takes her leave of the couple.

Natalie silently decided to slowly drink her tea this time since she completely down the first drink out of frustration, which was directed at Minato.

'_How could I let myself become so visibly upset…in front of him?'_ she inwardly asks herself while looking at the inside of her cup.

Minato quietly observes the sudden change in Natalie's facial expression after taking a sip from his cup. _'I wonder what's bothering her now.'_

"I don't mean to bring up the past but I think we should have a friendly spar…" Minato suggests as he allows his voice to trail off.

Natalie turns her sights upward from her cup to Minato's face, _'He must be serious…he would have twitched his left eyebrow if he lied to me.' _

A small smile stretches across her face while her bangs cover her eyes. "It seems as if you're quite serious about your request."

"Why wouldn't I be serious about fighting you?" Minato poses as he patiently waits for her answer. He merely sits and waits for her verbal answer even though he already knew her response.

Natalie casts her gaze toward him before a small smile stretches across her face when she speaks, "So what are we waiting for then?"

0000

Princess Mai felt a peculiar vibe that emitted from the soldiers, who were stationed throughout the castle once she walked by them.

'_So what the Avatar told me was correct then.' _Mai mentally notes with her eyes closed and her arms folded underneath her chest.

'_This is really troublesome…' _she thought when she turned the corner and once again one of the solider issued her a weird look.

_'I need to find a way to get in contact with the Krogs._' She thought as she was using her walk as a means to find hidden locations throughout the castle.

'_I wonder what could have had tipped them off?' _Mai thought while placing her hand underneath her chin.

She attempted to recall all of the times when she had contacted the Krogs in secrecy. She would always make it a point to scan her surroundings before calling them.

'_So when…when was it?' _she dwells further on the problem at hand.

0000

Aikka casually watches his napping wife before brushing a stray strand of her hair from in front of her eyes.

He notices that she was sleeping soundly as her chest seems to rise and fall as if it was following the steady beat of a drum.

A wide grin appears on his face when his eyes lay on her huge round belly, _'So I have three more on the way…'_

Aikka could not help but observe his surroundings, _'If I hadn't met Eva…the castle would feel lonely especially without the twins reeking havoc everywhere they go. I wouldn't have someone to welcome me home every time when I got back from a trip, no smiling face to cheer me up from sadness, no gentle spirit to take care of me when I am sick nor my best friend.' _

He could feel Eva slightly shift underneath his hold on her, "So how long have you been staring at me in my sleep?"

The grin remains present on her face with her eyes closed when he responds, "Ever since you fell asleep, dear."

"Are you having one of your moments again?" she whispers her inquiry to her husband.

Aikka was thoroughly surprised that his wife knew what he was currently thinking, "How did you know?"

Eva merely wears a small smile on her face, "Your heart beat slows down from its normal pace as if you were taking long drawn out breaths."

'_See what I mean…'_ he thought to himself, as his previous thoughts about his wife were proven accurate.

"Aikka..." Eva calls out to her husband. "Yes, what is it dear?"

She maintains the same smile on her face before proclaiming, "I love you."

Aikka heart was suddenly overwhelmed with joy as her simple phrase made him forget about what was bothering him so much.

"I love you too." Aikka returned the phrase while tightening his hold on her.

0000

Jordan continues to follow the pair down the mountain side and notices that they had their back to him when the servant speaks up.

"I am sorry to tell you this. Your parents are dead, Lady…Natalie." The servant maintains his sights on the burning house and informs the little girl, who was underneath his arm.

The little girl did not seem to immediately respond to what her servant just told her. _'So this is where it all started for Natalie.'_

Jordan noticed Natalie had short black hair and was styled in two pigtails with the rest of her hair framing her face. Her green eyes looked devoid of life as he could barely see her retinas.

"My lady, are you alright?" her servant inquires before he guides her to have a seaton a flatbed shape rock .

'_Why won't she answer me?' _the servant inwardly notes to himself because he was receiving no signals or any movement from Natalie.

Natalie repeats the same action from earlier and chooses to remain silent with her eyes downcast toward the ground.

'_So this is Natalie's childhood…' _Jordan concludes to himself as he covers the distance between the younger version of Natalie.

He squats so that he could see Natalie face-to-face as he reaches out one of his hands to her, "Hey there…"

Natalie cast her gaze upward and faces a glowing figure with the outline of a human being, _'Are you an angel?'_

Jordan simply shakes his head left and right, "No I am not. I am the Avatar my dear but you can call me Jordan. It's nice to meet you…"

'_It's nice to meet you too. My name is Natalie.' _Jordan heard her thoughts after she returned her focused back on the surrounding rocky terrain.

Jordan wears a small smile on his face, _'She is much more cooperative now then she is later.' _

"You know a smile would look so much cuter on you than a frown." Jordan suggests to her causing the little girl to blush at the compliment.

'_Thank you.' _Her answer comes a couple of seconds later.

"Care to tell me why you have such a serious look on your face, young lady?" he questions the little girl in front of him.

'_I've lost my parents to a fire.' _ She response with a sense of sadness present in her tone.

"I am sorry for your lost. Is there anything that you feel like doing right now?" Jordan inquires about Natalie's interest.

'_I am not in the mood for playing games at the moment.' _The girl expresses in a tone of irritability.

Jordan merely shrinks under little Natalie's stare, _'She's still scary for someone this young. The bad thing is...it gets worse when she is older.'_

It was then that he decided to approach the emotionally wounded child in a different manner then he previously did.

"Can you promise me something then?" he inquires as he can feel his plan unfolding from a dream to reality.

"Never forget me and continue to live." He advises her while placing a kiss on her forehead causing a yellow light to appear from contact.

The servant hears a thump when he realizes that Natalie was now lying with her head against the rock instead of sitting upright.

'_What's that on her forehead?' _the servant thought when he observed a small circle of light was around Natalie's forehead that appears a crown encircling her head.

"Whose there?" he shouts his question to no one in particular. He continues to observe his surroundings to see that no one was around.

The servant's attention immediately returns to Natalie when he feels her stir within his grasp. The golden crown merely shatters in to tiny shards.

'_I wonder where the crown could have come from.' _The servant thought inwardly with curiosity on their mind.

0000

Minato led the way for Natalie since he knew the layout better than she did because he had trained under Master Canaan.

'_I wonder how much he has grown in his fighting prowess.' _Natalie ponders as she places one foot in front of the other. Her anxiousness to fight Minato grew with every step she took.

Natalie suddenly felt a heavy pressure being applied to her forehead, which caused her to pause in her stride, _'What's this feeling?'_ she asked herself.

"Yo Natalie, are you alright?" Minato inquires, which causes her to break out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She comments when she silently thought that she could not shake the odd feeling she was having at the moment.

"Good," he told her, "I didn't want you already scared before we even start our match.

'_Arrogant idiot!' _she screams to herself while mentally shaking her fist angrily at him. "You sure seem confident in your current abilities to beat me in a sparring match to taunt me with that threat."

Minato wore a small smile on his face when he glanced over his shoulder again to see that Natalie was planning to give one hundred percent in their battle.

'_Good. I wouldn't want it any other way.' _He thought to himself before turning his attention back to what was in front of him.

Natalie glances at her hand to see that it was still shaking before having the urge to touch her forehead.

'_Something isn't right with me…but what could it be?' _she thought before the sound of Master Canaan's voice was heard.

"Are you two already leaving?" his question sounded as if he did not want the pair to leave.

Minato stopped while Natalie hung back a little off to the side, "Oh no, not right now Master Canaan. I was just curious to see if we could borrow a sparring area."

He raised an eyebrow at the blonde haired man that was in front of him before he turned his gaze to Natalie. "Is that true Natalie?"

Not trusting her voice at the moment, she nodded her head to show that she agreed with the idea of having a sparring match.

"Would you mind if I invited my class to speculate your spar?" Canaan asks of them and explains why, "After all, we are progressing to the stage of using a sword soon." .

Minato turned to her and grinned with his eyes closed, "Why not? It makes it all the more interesting…"

Canaan nods his head before calling for one of his maids, "Have the children meet me in the weaponry room and give these two up with swords."

"Yes, Master Canaan," The maid answers before bowing out of their sights and disappearing within the hallways.

"I would show you the way but I have to pick up my class. I am sure that the maids will have the swords already waiting for you two once you get there. Minato, you do know exactly where I am talking about don't you?"

"I know exactly where to go…" Minato mentions to his former master before guiding Natalie pass him.

'_This should be interesting…I wonder who would win between the two?' _Canaan inwardly asked himself as he watched the pair retreating backs.


	32. Visual Lessons

Jordan simply watches as his current surroundings quickly changes once again. He was no longer standing in the middle of a dense wooden forest instead was traveling through a circular tube shape with streams of yellow, golden, and purple lights interwoven with one another.

'_I didn't know I could time travel.' _Jordan inwardly ponders in disbelief as he merely allows his body to freely float along with the flow of time.

He meticulously observes his current surroundings and finds nothing but the various streams of lights that guides him to his next destination.

'_Would I be in the far past, present or in the distant future?' _Jordan wonders to himself since his curiosity starts to get the better of him.

He soon arrived to what appeared to be the end of the tunnel when a sudden burst of extreme bright light instantly blinded him.

'_Where am I now?' _he thought to himself while silently observing the familiar surrounding area. He had ultimately concluded that he had arrived back at the castle.

'_I wonder if I will be able to time travel again?' _he mulls over his question to himself.

There really was not much of an Avatar's manual to consult on the numerous and various powers that he had acquired when he sacrificed his human body in order to become the next Avatar.

'_Still…it feels as if time has a different flow to it already.' _He mentally notes when he can feel a gentle breeze brushing against his face.

Jordan takes a couple of more steps forward before the bright light of the sun hit him directly in the face when another thought surface to his head.

'_I thought that if I slightly altered the past then the future would be something completely different.' _ He thought in frustration as he glances up at the sun.

'_I guess only time will tell…but there's somewhere I need to be at right now.' _he reminds himself as he continues on his stroll through the castle.

0000

Master Cannan rounds the opposite side of the dojo and approaches his students with a small smile present on his face.

He scans their faces to see that they were ready and eagered to learn, he inquires,"Is everyone here?"

A unified "yes" was heard which signaled to the teacher that not only were they all there but they were prepared for their lesson today.

"It seems as if every one is in high spirits this morning. " He tells his students as Kieran and Kiera glances at each other as they nod their heads in agreement. "I like that."

"Today we're going to have a visual lesson," he mentions to his student, which causes them to wear looks of confusion on their faces.

Raul had raised his hand before their teacher acknowledged his hand. "Yes, what is it Raul?"

"What do you mean by visual lesson?" he asks the million-dollar question.

"What I mean by visual lesson is a lesson where you can see what is happening with your own set of eyes. Today we're not going to shoot with the arrows and bows."

"So what exactly are we doing today then, Master Canaan?" Davis asks their teacher since they wonders why they would not be using the bow today.

"What makes a warrior strong is not just their brute strength but the intelligence that they use to stay alive." He answers Raul's question only to be met with more looks of confusion from his students.

"You can't always rely on your bow and arrow young ones, being able to use different kinds of weapons can boost your chances of survival. Now save your questions for later and just follow me." Master Canaan offers words of wisdom to his disciples.

"Do you think it has anything to deal with Minato and Natalie, Kieran?" Kiera asks her brother once they start to follow their teacher retreating back.

"Probably since I didn't see them leave when we got here." Kirean answers his twin's question with uncertainty in his tone.

0000

"So this is the place?" Natalie inquired to Minato once they approached a wooden circular pin caught her sight.

"Yeah, this is the place." Minato replied before he had hopped off of the wooden platform and onto the surface of the ground.

Natalie hops off of the platform and makes her way over to where Minato stands. "It looks like a sty for pigs."

"That's because it used to be but when Master Canaan saw it he instantly thought of a miniature arena where warriors can spar. We use to put in some hours in here too."

Natalie glances over at Minato as he wears this far-off look in his eyes when he talks about the area. "Yet all of his training wasn't enough to beat me."

Minato simply wears a smile on his face after hearing Natalie's statement as he shakes his head left and right.

"We will see about that today." Minato claims with a confident smile present on his face.

He turns his head to look at Natalie, who also wears a smile on her face.

'_Good. It seems as if she's onboard with this whole spar thing.' _Minato inwardly notes to himself while mentally doing a victory dance.

Sounds of Master Canaan and his students can be heard when they noticed that the maids had made their way over to them with two visible items in their hands.

"Master Canaan told us to deliver these to you two." One of the two maids speaks up after approaching them with two metallic swords in their grasps.

Minato reaches for his first while Natalie waits a couple of seconds after he takes a hold of his weapon.

"Tell him, we send our thanks." Minato instructs the maids, who quickly bows out of place before returning to their daily routine of mending to Canaan's home.

"I think I hear something…" Natalie mentions to Minato while maintaining her grip on her sword, which she holds at a diagonal point.

Natalie closes her eyes to concentrate and sure enough the sound of Master Canaan's voice can be heard along with small talk from the children he teaches.

'It seems as if we will have an audience watching this spar. That should make it a little bit more interesting.'

"So are you ready to head in or are we going to wait till Master Canaan come back?" Natalie inquires deciding to play dumb to the fact that she knows that they were on their way.

Minato turns toward the house one last time before looking at Natalie, "We can go ahead and start warming up. Besides Master Canaan told us to wait on him anyway, I think he's interested in our little agreement."

'_More like you wanting an audience…' _she mentally corrects him before opening her eyes to see that Minato was holding the gate's door open for her.

She brings her sword on the back portion of her shoulder while flashing Minato a weird expression.

"What?" he asks after he glances up at Natalie to see that she still did not move from her current position.

Natalie simply stares at him with one of her eyebrows raise at him before saying "Since when did you start acting like a _gentleman_?"

"That's my little secret." He tells her when he notices that the sights of children enter his peripheral vision before thinking _'Showtime…'_

0000

Eva can feel two hands against her arms gently shaking her till she was awake.

She then responses with a "Yeah, what is it?"

Aikka watches as his wife was slow to wake before rubbing her eyes with her hands to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

"Nap time is over." He informs her in a teasing manner causing a small smile to appear on her face.

"10 more minutes, mom." She jokes before doing a small stretch to ease her tense muscles before hearing a small pop noise.

Aikka decides to play along with his wife's antics before responding with "No dearie, you have to wake up."

Eva simply shrugs her shoulders up and down before glancing over to where her husband was lying to find him wide a wake.

"You know the twins are going to expect us to be up when they come back from training." Aikka reminds his wife of the promise that they made to Kieran and Kiera.

"Tell me why we made that deal with them again?" Eva fakes ignorance just to see if Aikka remembers the reason why they promise that to their twins.

Aikka looks at his wife before clearing his throat. "We will always make it a habit to wait for one another to arrive since time is so precious."

"Aw…don't I have such a dotting husband on my hands." Eva says toward Aikla before stifling a chuckle with her left hand.

"Yes, you sure do. Now let's get you up or you will fall right back to sleep." He tells her before sliding out of the bed.

Eva nods her head to show that she understands what he just said to her before seeing him wheeling the wheelchair up to the side of the bed.

'_Speaking of the twins…I hope they haven't caused any trouble for Master Canaan.' _Eva thought to herself before being help into the wheelchair.

0000

'_Good thing I decided to hide within my human form.' _ Jordan thinks as he finds himself strolling through the village with a particular destination in mind.

Jordan continues to observe the Noursaians and their standard of living in harmony with their neighbors.

'_I have to admit…Aikka keeps the peace in his kingdom.' _He thought since he did not receive a heap of dark energy emitting from the people.

'_It's a little dark energy here but it is more on a neutral scale.' _Jordan concluded when he noticed he passed by the statue that Natalie pointed out on their tour of Noursaia.

He suddenly pauses to himself standing out of the way in order to allow vendors, merchants, and consumers to easily move through the streets so they can accomplish their day's goals.

'_I think I should take a little break. I still have time before I am needed.' _Jordan thought before making his way onto the area of the park.

It was but a short walk to the statue since it sat in the center of the middle of the park, meaning it was closer to the vendors' side of the street, meaning more money for them.

'_There are a lot of people at this statue.' _Jordan thought while briefly scanning the crowd that was surrounding the concrete item.

He notices that there were a lot of teenaged girls or young adult women, who still hold the "Knight in shining armor" look in their eyes as they clasps their hands to their chest and their eyes closed tightly as hopes of finding that "one" floods their thoughts.

Jordan shakes his heads at the foolish young maidens' languid attempt at a fortunate chance of love. He then concludes it was their sheer naivety that was keeping their precious dream of "prince charming" romances a float.

It was those particular kinds of women that really bother him the most. He had a simple and short name to category those he saw of that nature. He calls them "The delusional romantic woman".

Yes, the ones, who do any and everything to make sure that they acquire there "true" love by any means necessary.

Those with that thought patterns more than likely led to obsession and that was one thing Jordan made sure to stay away from.

A simple "tsk" and a shake of the head kept him focused on why he decided to stop here in the first place.

'_Where is it?' _he asks himself while walking around the object and weaving in and out of swooning women.

He pauses in his stride when the read of the pressure was apparent. _'It is definitely here.' _

0000

"What?" "Are you serious?" Kiera and Kieran gave an individual response after hearing what Master Canaan's announcements.

"Today, we have representatives from the Royal Family Guards holding a spar here on my grounds. So I elected for permission to have you all to watch this exhibition so that it will inspire you to work twice as hard in my class. Like I said from earlier…the warrior who is versatile with weapons can win against someone who is fluent in one."

Kieran and Kiera merely observes as Minato and Natalie were standing apart and facing one another in a pit with a wooden fence surrounding them.

"Are they really going to fight each other?" Raul inquires to his master on how serious the spar was going to be.

Kiera turns and face Raul with a "Really?" look on her face. Raul merely shrugs his shoulders up and down for his answer.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to Sir Minato and Natalie. These two will be our live demonstrations for today. So please take a seat where you can see so we can start this spar as soon as possible."


	33. Time Travel?

'_Whew…I'm glad that I finally got that done…' _Rick inwardly thinks to himself as he slowly leans against the back of his chair.

He releases a deep sigh of relief before thinking, _'Ever since Natalie returned I at least thought that the castle wouldn't be this quiet.' _

Rick sits straight up with his feet against the floor, _'Then there's the thing that had changed between Minato and Natalie.' _

_'I still have yet to figure out what exactly happened between those two.' _

He runs his fingers through his black locks before his sights land on an envelope that slides underneath the crack of his door.

'_I wonder what this is?' _Rick asks himself as his curiosity was getting the better of him.

After making his way over to where his door was, he squats to scoop up the white envelope and stares at it hard.

'_It has no return address…' _he thought before giving the item a brief shake with no sounds of jiggling or ringing heard.

'_It's definitely not a bomb…so it's just a regular letter.' _Rick concludes before he rises to his full height.

'_I wonder whose it's from?' _he ponders to himself before he flips the envelope so that the fold faces him before she hooks his finger in the corner and drags it across the fold.

Rick withdraws a piece of white paper with visible writing on it and lets his eyes scan the words.

'_No way…it can't be…' _he thinks in disbelief while he proceeds to read the contents of the letter.

0000

'_Ah here it is…_' Jordan thinks to himself while he travels until he stands in front of his intended destination.

He quirks an eyebrow at the item in front of him when he mulls over, _'I at least thought it would be something more dramatic then a simple park bench.'_

He merely shrugs his shoulders up and down before he reaches out for a miniature sphere of green energy that marterialzes in front of him.

'_Am I going back in time?' _he ponders as a strange yet familiar sensation overcomes his body once his fingers graze the ball of light.

"You know you are nothing without Minato by your side!" A feminine teenage voice catches Jordan's ears as he glances to his left to spot three girls that surrounds a young girl, who sits on a bench.

"Who really cares about what you losers think of me?" the young girl on the bench fires back toward the three girls while she rises to her feet.

"Don't you dare walk away from us when we're talking to you!" One of the three girls threaten her once they close in on the girl.

"Why don't you just go and play with your dolls or something? You're really getting on my last nerves." The girl with raven-hair quickly retorts to the group of girls.

"Ladies, I do believe that our precious little Natalie has some feelings for Minato." The leader of the trio broadcasts, which causes Natalie to freeze in place.

The leader extends her right arm outward in order to block the other from passing her, "I'm sure that I can handle her."

Natalie merely whirls on her heels to face the girls before she shrieks, "So you think that I'm weakling because you try to run your pathetic excuses as an insult to get under my skin."

"You thought wrong, Misao! I have a much tougher skin than that! Besides, unlike you three I am not obsessed with that blonde haired twit!"

"If you aren't interested then you should not be this worked up over him, right?" the girl name Misao pries with her arms across her chest.

Natalie simply rolls her eyes at the trio before she declares, "You three aren't worth my time nor my breath."

Jordan watches as a teenage Natalie closes her eyes and treks toward the street with the vendors.

She was unaware the the trio of girls were still hot on her trail.

"I can't believe the nerve of those girls accusing me of something like that with Minato." Natalie huffs as she stares at the ground instead of what was in front of her.

"Natalie!" "Where are you?" "Natalie!" "Answer me!" "Your father is worried about you!" Minato screams out in the crowd of people not realizing how close he was to her proximity.

Natalie instantly freezes up in her stance before she rotates her head left and right as if to find a hiding spot.

It was at that exact moment that Natalie watches the surface of the street nears her as gravity drags her body downward.

_'Why am I falling forward?' _She wonders to herself right while she collides against the stoned streets.

The sound of laughter captures her awareness as she peers up to behold Misao as the one that shoved her in the street since she wears a satisfied grin on her face.

"That's what you get for trying to confront me." Misao counters before the trio leave Natalie to herself in the middle of the street.

'_At least that's the end of Misao and her little gang.' _Natalie inwardly broods as she exhales a sigh of relief not fully aware that danger quickly approaches her.

"Move out of the way!" "The horse has gone rogue!" "Get out of the way!" A man shouts out verbal warnings while he clutches the reins of a horse.

The horse was clearly livid and shows no visible signs of heeding the owner's requests to slow down.

Natalie merely watches frantic people run around her as if they were in extreme distress.

_'I wonder why everyone is in such a hurry?' _she curiously ponders about the reason behind their actions

The sound of hooves rapidly stomping against the cobble road ensnares her awareness as she cuts her sights to the right and beholds a horse on a rampage head in her direction.

'_I need to move out the way…'_ she tells herself as she tries to move but instead feels a sharp intense pain from her feet.

Natalie quickly glances down at her feet to see that her ankle was indeed sprain and that moving was definitely out of the plan now.

'_Why? Why does this happen to me every time they mention his name? I always get the bad end of the stick whenever he is around.' _Natalie contemplates in disbelief at her current situation.

'_Even_ _still I don't want to die because of horse…I just hope he hears me.' _Natalie resolves as her head hangs low with her eyes tightly shut with one of her hands clenched in a fist against her chest.

"Minato!" She clamours at the top of her lungs after the horse enters a five-yard radius from her.

'_I'm going to die…' _she ultimately presumes while she braces her body for the full impact.

Jordan witnesses a blurry yellow hue lauches from the opposite side of the sidewalk, snags Natalie right before the horse could even reach her.

Natalie's eyes slowly flutters open as her pupils dilate from the bright sunrays that blind her vision, "Am I _dead_?"

"No, you're far from dead, Natalie." A familiar masculine voice tells her when she peeps over at the source of the voice.

Natalie recognizes bright yellow hair while her mind connects it to a face and their identity. "Minato…"

"You don't have to explain how you sprain your ankle. I saw and heard everything." He explains to her with his face hovers over hers when he speaks.

'_He heard…everything?' _she thinks in disbelief while she feels heat pool around her cheeks.

He sits down in front of her with his legs crossed in front of him. "I'm just glad you threw your pride aside for a minute to call for me."

Natalie looks to see that he was serious about his statement. "Well as long as you are alright, I am sure you won't have a problem with those girls anymore."

"Minato…" Natalie quietly mutters his name before seeing him smile at her with his eyes close and head tilting to the right.

"You don't have to thank me, you know. Just make sure your ankle heals in time for our spar, 'kay?" Minato cuts her off in the middle of her sentence.

"After all, I don't want to hear any excuses from you when I beat you." He includes which causes a small smile to stretch across her face.

She slightly nods her head in agreement at the deal before he responses with a, "You got it."

"Good. Now we have to return back home. I don't want Master Rick or Master Namikaze having my head for being so late." Minato mentions to her while he helps her up on to his back.

"Yeah, you're right." Natalie softly mutters when she wraps her arms around his neck so she would not fall off of his back.

A similar smile surfaces on her face once she secures herself on Minato's back when she whispers, "Thank you, Minato."

'_So that's where it all started for those two...' _he conceives after he spectates the incident with his very own eyes.

_'I never thought that Natalie would be the one who was bullied. I guess life is full of surprises.' _Jordan considers before he closes his eyes when the sound of birds chirping captures his attention.

'_It seems as if I have returned to the present time then…' _he says to himself before he glances at that spot one last time.

'_I have somewhere I need to be…' _he reminds himself before he heads away from the park bench.

0000

'_Who's going to strike first?' _Canaan, Kieran, Kiera, and the other students wonder as they serve as spectators to the spar of the two Royal guards.

Minato and Natalie simultaneously steps with their opponent as they circle around one another as if to wait in anticipation to see who would be the first to strike the other.

Natalie watches Minato's feet to watch for the slightest twitch or movement, which means he was going to engage first in the showdown.

Minato's eyes concentrated on Natalie's waist since he was taught that a fighter was not able to alter the position of their waist whenever they would attack thus its easier to read their moves.

'_Someone's about to make a move…' _Canaan assumes after the pair shuffles with each other step by step and almost covers the entire area of the circle.

Minato shifts his right foot so it points toward her before he lauches toward Natalie with no signs of hesitation. Natalie prepares herself for his charge, drops her sword to her side, and dashes in his direction.

'_They're both doing a heads on attack...this early? They must be really serious about this practice match.' _ Canaan concludes to himself as he continues to observe both of the fighters movement.

"Not bad Minato, it seems as if you are still reckless then ever." Natalie comments after she connects against Minato's blade.

"That's my style." Minato reminds her before he thrusts her backward with the use of his sword, which results in her balance being thrown off.

Natalie swiftly recovers her balance before she returns to her original height and considers, _'So if he is taking this serious then I should at least be serious about it too.'_

Minato observes Natalie momentarily pause to herself as if she was deep in thought while he ponders, _'...is she going to take me seriously now?'_

He launches at her once again, except this time he runs on her left hand side before he leaps in the air with his sword pose over his head.

'_Move Natalie…'_ Kieran forsees when she recognizes the move that Minato was about to use on her.

Just a mere few seconds later, Natalie lifts her sword to meet his and halts his attack in midair as he leans his weight against her.

Canaan overhears the "wows" emit from his students once they witnessed a woman blocked a man, who was twice her size, in the air.

"I guess you are done babying me, aren't you?" Minato inquires before he sees a leg enters his peripheral vision.

Minato nippily shifts his sword in the other hand while his free hand blocks the kick but the force of her strike pushes him a little ways to his right.

Natalie follows up her attack with a slash at Minato while she rotates her whole body to face him.

"Are you going to do something?" he questions her with a smirk present on his face.

She brings her left hand to the hilt of the sword and lifts it up in an upward-diagonal fashion.

'_She's really strong.' _Canaan analyzes Natalie's strenght after he views the rapid succession of her offension with the sword.

Minato guards his body from Natalie's onslaught of multiple slashes, who appears to be intensively focus on their spar.

He soon feels the natural force of gravity work against his body as he lands back on ground.

Natalie watches as Minato falls off to his side before she delivers a sweeping floor kick that catches him off guard.

She draws near him, halts in front of his face, lifts her sword, points the tip directly at his face, and asserts, "If you were going to slack off and not concentrate then consider this spar over."

He raises to his feet all while he dusts the dirt off of his shirt and gives his back a good stretch.

"Let's try this again." Minato mutters to himself before he lounges at her again.

Natalie tightly clutches her sword, swiftly dashes toward Minato, and directly aims his blade at her stomach region.

She ducks in order to escape the swing with only a few strands of her hair being sliced from her head of hair.

_'He's open now.' _Natalie deems as she remains in her squat position, lifts her sword, and aims at Minato's hips.

The sound of metal clashes against metal echoes throughout the mute environment of Master Canaan and his students.

Minato lifts his left leg, which prompts Natalie to back off in order to avoid a potential hit.

She drives from her seated position with her sword straight behind her.

He recovers from their close encounter, takes a couple of steps backwards and dodges the head on attack.

Natalie plants her right foot against the surface of the ground, channels her momentum to the stroke of her blade as her raven-haired ponytail sways to the other side of her head.

Minato could only block her attack at the moment when he realizes that since her swing was not successful, she tosses the hilt in her opposite hand and swings upward.

'_What a move!' _Kiera inwardly judges after she witnesses the manuever that Natalie just executed on Minato.

'_I wonder who will win in the end.' _Canann thought as he continues to observe from his seated location.


	34. Sparring

'_Good, they haven't done anything drastic yet.' _Jordan thinks to himself as he strolls within someone's property while he conceals his presence from others.

'_I made it just in time.' _He notes before he hunkers down on top of the roof when the sight of Minato and Natalie sparring with each other enters his vision.

Jordan notices that Minato's breathing was different while Natalie's seem to be a more normal breathing rate.

It was then that Natalie's action hit both Jordan and Canaan, _'She isn't tired at all!' _

"I give you some credit…you at least cut off some of my hair." Natalie says after she gains some space from her opponent and inspects her hair.

Minato catches his breath while she continues to engage in a regular conversation with him.

_'She doesn't even seem tired from any of the attacks that she unleashed on me.' _He conceives after he examines her body to see the damage he had done to her_._

A black box materializes in the bottom portion of her right eye, _'It looks as if he's near his limit.' _

Natalie slides her right foot behind her, which causes her body to rotate to the side while her left foot serves as a guide. She raises the sword to her eye level while the top of her left hand rests underneath the tip of the blade and her right hand grips the hilt a little ways past her ear.

"Are you ready?" Natalie inquires when she tightens her grasp around the hilt while she lounges at him.

'_If she comes at me like that I can read her attacks…' _Minato quickly assumes to himself before he realizes that Natalie was directly right in front of him.

'_How did she move so fast?' _he wonders as he watches the sword draw closer and closer to his face.

Minato slighty leans back and uses the back of his forearm to redirect the aim of the sword, which causes Natalie to stumble a little off to the side.

'_She drew first blood.' _Canaan considers after he spots a cut across Minato's forearm due to the sharpness of the sword.

'_Natalie didn't even hesitate to strike her opponent even if it meant drawing blood. She's truly one scary woman.' _Jordan concludes once he witnesses the move Natalie executed on Minato.

"Master Canaan, there's blood." Kiera speaks up after she spots a red liquid flow from Minato's arm as her voice captures her teacher's attention.

"Calm down Kiera, it isn't a fatal wound. A little blood spill means that those two respect each other as a fighter." Canaan calms Kiera's qualms with a serious expression on his face.

Minato silently assesses the wound on whether or not it was fatal or shallow. He rips off a shred of his shirt in order to cover the injury so it would not become infected.

Natalie peers over her shoulder while her sword hilt rests at the side of her leg as the blood she drew from Minato's arm drips on to the ground.

"Minato," she calls to him once he patches himself back up. "What does it mean to you when you fight me?"

He glances up at her before he asks her, "Why do you ask that all of a sudden? You know the reason why."

Natalie whirls her head to face him with an expression of irritation when she states, "I clearly remember you proclaiming yourself as my rival, correct?"

She raises the sword, points it at his direction, and claims "I can't call someone who doesn't commit 100% to a fight my rival."

'_Isn't that being a little harsh?' _Kieran and Kiera simultaneously thought after they hear Natalie's statement.

'_I guess that's her pride as a warrior speaking.' _Canaan deduces his opinion from Natalie's apparent feelings.

'_Go ahead and kill that blonde haired twit for all I care Natalie.' _ Jordan wanted to say but reminds himself that his presence should remain a secret.

Minato did not immediately respond but instead he brings his sword in front of him with both hands on the hilt.

"You know something Natalie? You're absolutely right. I haven't been committed to this thing ever since we began." He admits while he shifts to his fighting stance.

"At first, you weren't either but then you gave me a trail run on you being serious and I failed to meet your standard. So allow me just one more chance to take you on as a serious opponent." Minato suggests after he narrows his vision on to his opposition.

'_That's the Minato I know…' _She mentally declares as she physically nods her head forward at his little speech.

Natalie dashes toward him with the sword in one of her hands before she dodges a downward slash that throws her slightly off guard. She then brings her sword back in front of her as metal clashes against metal.

He swiftly retracts his sword just in time to avoid another one of Natalie's follow up attacks.

Natalie spins around his back only to connect with his sword again before she side kicks him in the back of his calf.

Minato collapses to his right knee, swings the blade to his right as she jumps back for a brief second before she leaps toward him.

She realizes that his plan is to take the attack head on so she decides to add in another move for deception.

He braces his body for the impending clash but instead feels something presses against the side of his cheek as Natalie places a kick to his jaw.

'_He took that better than I thought…' _Natalie analyzes after she watches him recover by standing to his knees first.

Minato's gut feeling instructs him to block something that was aimed at his back.

He reacts by swinging his sword behind his back as the sound of metal hit metal was heard.

'_At least he's paying attention…' _she deliberates before she decides to test his attention span even further.

_'Block now…'_ Minato's instinct orders him as he uses his other forearm to block the kick that was aim at his head.

Natalie feels Minato tighten his grip around her ankle when she registers that he had shift the sword to his other hand while his left hand secures her in place.

_ 'He caught her?'_ Kieran spectates when he observes Minato tosses the sword to the opposite hand.

He swings the sword behind him when he feels Natalie weight shifts backwards, which pulls him slightly back.

_'She dodged it!'_ Canaan conceives in disbelief since Minato's attack was slated to create a shallow slash across her abdominal region.

The bottom of Natalie's foot connects with his back, pushes him forward, and frees her ankle from his taut grip.

He quickly whirls around to see Natalie runs in his direction once again as he swiftly scrambles to his feet only to have to dodge another barrage of attacks.

'_How is it possible that she has this much power left?' _Minato inwardly judges her performance when something catches his attention.

"Got you." she whispers to him as the tip of her sword points at his chest, specifically the area that houses the very thing that keeps him alive.

'_It's finally over.' _ Canaan and Jordan declares to themselves once they witness the final position that the two ends up.

Cheers and claps erupts from the sidelines as Canaan faces his students to see that they were thoroughly impressed by the two's display of strength in the midst of battle.

The children's reactions to their fight prompts a small smile to stretch across Minato's face before he admits defeat, "It seems as if I lost _again_."

Natalie removes the sword from in front of his heart, eases to her regular height, drops the sword and stalks off.

'_It seems as if someone's disappointed.' _Jordan guesses after he witnesses Natalie's reaction to Minato's statement.

Before she mentally digests the entire spar, Natalie finds herself swamped at her legs by Master Canaan's students.

"Good job!" "Congratulations!" "You're so freaking awesome!" "That was amazing!" "Can you teach me how to fight?" "Where did you learn to fight like that?" "How long did you train?" "You're my hero!"

Natalie was speechless at first since Canaan's disciples surround her was adamant on receiving her full and undivided attention.

"Alright you all let Ms. Natalie breathe!" Canaan's stern voice can be overheard, which causes the rowdy children to transform in to an orderly bunch.

"Congratulations on the win, Ms. Natalie. That was an intense battle from the both of you." Canaan gives his assessment on the spar from his point of view.

Natalie cuts her eyes toward Minato, who locks the gate back, before he canters over to them.

"Thank you for permitting us to use the area and the swords." Natalie thanks Canaan while she bows at the waist to show her appreciation.

"I would gladly allow you two to use this area again if you promise me another intense battle like that one. My students rather enjoyed seeing how two strong warriors truly fight." Canaan states his demands on them using the area for future purposes.

"You got yourself a deal." Minato speaks up once he nears the two before Canaan guides the children away from them.

"You're disappointed. I can tell by the way you dropped your sword." Minato mentions as he catches her in his sights.

"At least you were able to read that _correctly_," she counters while she stares at what was in front of her.

'_Does she even realize that I sort of reached my limit during the spar?'_ he inwardly regards to himself.

"Unlike you I don't have an unlimited supply of energy. I battled you with everything I had even when I didn't have it." Minato attempts to reason with her.

Natalie spins toward him with a look of irritation and anger when she asserts, "Don't fed me excuses Minato, it makes you look pathetic. A warrior accepting a lost because they were tired is nothing but crap to me. If you weren't such a good friend to me then you would be in there dead from me killing you."

Minato was thoroughly surprised at how Natalie's mindset was during their spar. _'She treated it as a life or death match.' _

"Look Minato, let's just get Prince Kirean and Princess Kiera and take them back home. I don't feel like talking about this right now." Natalie suggests to him over her shoulder before she follows the same route that Canaan and his students use.

'_It seems as if I have fallen in the pits of Natalie's hate again.' _Minato assumes after he reads Natalie's facial expression.

Jordan rises to his feet after he watches Natalie and Minato walk away. _'At least it seems as if my little plan is in full motion.' _

0000

Aikka watches as his wife nods off to sleep while he rolls her down the hallway toward the front entrance of the castle.

Whenever he would see her head bob off a little too far, he reacts by pausing in their stride and gently shaking her awake.

"I swear you really need to have those kids." Aikka utters since the visible signs of varied hormonal shift in emotions starts to annoy him.

"Now you see how I feel?" Eva states her question once they take their umpteenth break.

"After all, I'm trying to see as much as possible before being on bed rest for the last part of my pregnancy." She speaks up again when she feels the wheelchair move forward again.

"I understand. I just hope we don't have to go through the horrors of your previous pregnancy." He mentions to her, which causes a smile to appear on her face.

Eva reaches out for her husband only to come in to contact with his face. "I sort of remember messing this nose up by accident the last time."

"…by _accident_? More like you almost broke my nose because you were enduring a wave of severe cramps." Aikka corrects her sentence in his normal tone.

"Hey, how about you try pushing out twins naturally! It definitely isn't easy." She states while gently pinches amd wiggles Aikka's nose.

"Can't breathe…" He falsely claims when Eva notices that Aikka's cheeks turn from its normal tan color to a violet purple hue.

Eva releases her hold on Aikka's noise as he deeply inhales for air before he peer over at Eva, "I hope the twins are there when we get there."

"Did you forget that we have the best godparents in the world looking after them?" Eva inquires with a puffed out chest.

Aikka nods his head before he returns to his previous position and pushes Eva further down the hallway.

0000

"Ms. Natalie," Kieran's voice catches her attention as Natalie turns her gaze toward his direction.

"Yes, what is it Prince Kieran?" she asks while she executes a gesture to him to show that he has her attention.

"Where did you learn how to fight like that?" Kieran curiously inquires, which prompts Natalie to unknowingly glimpse up at Minato after she hears the question.

"My father, Sir Rick, taught me how to fight. Not to mention, I had to spar with this blonde haired twit over there on numerous occasion so it made me a little stronger than I am now." Natalie honestly discloses the truth to the young prince.

'_She said that in a way that just not believable.' _ Minato thought inwardly as a cloud of depression hangs over his head after he listens to Natalie's statement.

Kieran and Kiera face each other with their eyes sparkling with some kind of emotion that only the two could decipher.

"If you are going to ask us to train you two…" Natalie verbalizes once she processes the twin's expression.

"…then forget about." Minato finishes Natalie's statement.


	35. Persistence

Jordan beats the traveling quad to the castle by some miles and strolls inside as if his actions were nothing important to him.

'_Natalie has shown me that she's more than capable of doing things that surpasses the normal human level. She acts more of a robot than a human being.'_

He halts in the middle of his stride after he realizes an epiphany within his thought. _'So far… I was able to travel back in time to when Natalie was a very young girl and then a pre-teenager. Yet, I haven't been able to see what occurred in between those time periods.' _

Jordan scopes out his current surroundings and finds not a single trace of visible light to guide him to his next destination.

'_What could've happened during those years that I can't access them?' _he inwardly wonders to himself before the sounds of Princess Mai's voice surfaces him out of his thoughts.

"Jordan! Jordan, I'm so glad you are here!" Mai shrieks after she registers that it was indeed the Avatar, since he answers to her call by his human name, stands in the middle of the hallway.

'_Just great…I thought she had left already.' _Jordan assumes when he sees the pampered princess draw nears him.

Princess Mai reminds him of an annoying little gnat since she likes to buzz around even after being swat away.

"What can I do for you today, lovely Princess Mai?" He inquires toward the woman in front of him.

A visible red blush appears across her cheeks after she hears Jordan's question. "I just wanted to inform you that I am due to leave within two days. I was wondering if there were any loose ends that I need to tie up so the Krogs can immediately start the invasion on Noursaia."

'_She's quite the persistent mole. No wonder Kross had her on his side…she's quite dedicated to a fault.' _

Jordan rests one of his hands on top of her shoulders before he responds with, "Just leave it up to me. As long as you continue to follow my orders then you will keep living, understand?"

Princess Mai supplies him with a verbal statement, "Yes. I trust you with the plan."

'_It's a pity that she makes this all too easy.' _He thinks as he lifts his hand from against her shoulders before he ruffles her hair with the same hand.

"Good. Don't ever doubt my plans again." Jordan mentions to her before he leaves her in her current dazed position.

'_I promise to follow your orders…Avatar.' _Mai silently declares her oath while she watches Jordan's retreating back.

0000

"Ah man, why not?" Kiera curiously inquires since she was thoroughly disappointed with Minato's answer at her suggestion for the two of them to train them.

"What we know isn't something you two are ready to learn yet. Just be patient and learn the basics for now. After all you have to start somewhere right?" Minato conveys to her in a gentle but stern tone.

Kiera pouts at Minato's refusal before she whirls away from him, faces her twin and catches up with him.

Minato straightens out to his normal height before he considers, _'I guess they must have been excited from the spar that we had.'_

'…_speaking of that I guess I should make my amends with her now or suffer her wraith later.' _He weighs to himself when he observes the peeve expression on Natalie's face.

"Are you going to forgive me, already?" Minato revels to Natalie in a hush tone so that she was the only one to hear his question.

She cuts her eyes toward his direction and verbalizes, "What I don't understand is why did you issue a challenge to a spar only to end up disappointing me?"

"Quite frankly, there's no excuse in the world that you can come up with and use it effectively on me. So I would advise you to save your pathetically lame excuse." Natalie forewarns him when she narrows her sights in on the blonde.

Minato senses the venom in her tone, which causes his head to snap back while he stews, _'Eck, she's even scarier when she's disappointed instead of angry.' _

Natalie releases a sigh of frustration before she focuses back on their responsibilities that happily chats away with one another, flashes wide grins and ambles a couple of feet in front of them.

'_Now that I think about it…it's always been Rick and I.' _she suddenly thinks to herself after she witnesses the sibling's interaction with each another.

'_Then on certain occasions Minato and Master Namikaze but even still there was some loneliness to the home once they left.' _

Minato observes the facial expression that Natalie wears on her face and guesses to himself, _'She's thinking about something.' _

He reaches his hand out to touch her on her shoulder when he realizes that they reach castle grounds.

'_I think I better not touch her. She'll probably try to flip me over her shoulder as a trained reaction.' _ Minato mulls over his decision as his hand halts in mid-air before he retracts it to his side.

"You know you shouldn't think too hard about certain things that you can't control. It only shortens your patience and increases your irritability." Minato advises after he slides his hands inside of his pockets.

Natalie halts in her stride when she watches him walk pass her. _'Why is it that I can't hide my feelings around this blonde haired twit?'_

She shakes her head left and right when she figues that she will never discover the answer to that question anytime soon.

The thought earns a smile on her face right before she peers up at Minato, who now stares at her dead in her face.

"You don't want the twins to beat us in, do you?" Minato shouts his question to her while he waves his hand in his direction since he was glad to see that Natalie was doing better than earlier.

'_She's smiling. Good.' _ He regards when he sees her canters toward him no longer with an icy look in her eyes.

0000

Rick ventures to the King and Queen's personal quarters with an envelope that he just receive a few minutes ago.

"Yo Rick," a familiar masculine voice calls out to him, which prompts him to pause in the middle of his stride and faces the source of the voice.

'_What does he want now?' _Rick wonders to himself while he rolls his eyes behind his dark shades after he registers who it was that calls out his name.

Jordan returns his arm back to his side because the tone that Rick uses toward him means he was very busy at the moment.

"It seems as if you have something that you want to accomplish so I'll ask you my question later." Jordan states since Rick was in no mode for a chat with him at the moment.

Rick simply turns his back to Jordan and travels in his initial direction.

"If you're looking for King Aikka and Queen Eva…they're in the front meeting up with Natalie and the twins." Jordan's voice breaks in to Rick's inward thoughts.

He momentarily stops to thank Jordan for the directions but silently notes, _'Something isn't right with that boy.' _

Rick veers left as a smile stretches on Jordan's face. _'Good. My plan is about to reach its climax especially with my trump card now put in place. All I need now is one little push and it shall all unfold perfectly in front of my eyes.' '_

0000

Eva and Aikka arrive a little earlier than Minato, Natalie and the twins did and opt to wait a little ways underneath the front entrance.

"You know your kids want to be better archers then you are." Eva suddenly voices, which ensnares her husband's attention.

"No, I didn't know that. I'll make sure to set the bar really high then." Aikka says after he squats down near his wife's level.

"Ah Aikka, are you scared you will lose your touch?" Eva asks while she glances at her husband's face to witness his first reaction, which often time his true thought.

"Time...only time will tell." Aikka claims with his eyes close at his wife when he speaks.

Eva continues to studies her husband's face until he speaks up again, "By the way, you're staring at me, you don't seem satisfied with my answer."

"It's not that. I'm just not use to you accepting your fate so easily without fighting tooth and nail for it." Eva expresses in a soften tone so Aikka would not mistaken it as she reprimands him but instead tries to comfort him.

Aikka releases a breath before he opens his eyes to take in the sight of the sky that was above them. "I guess you can be defiant when you're young. Now, I see how my parents feel when I used to be stubborn."

Eva reaches out and ruffles his hair with her hand. "Aikka, you haven't even come close to your mid-life crisis yet so quit worrying about things that are out of your control."

Aikka rotates his head to look at his very pregnant wife before he cracks a smile. "That's why I have you here so you can bring me back down to the ground."

Before Eva could respond to her husband's statement the sound of "Mommy" "Daddy" catches their attention.

The couple peering in the direction of the noise discovering their two precious gifts running towards them with wide beaming smiles on their faces.

'_Our children…' _the pair shares a similar thought before they greet their children with warm smiles on their faces.

"So did you two enjoy your time at Master Canaan's?" Aikka inquires first about his children day once they make it to their area.

Kieran and Kiera face each other, nod their heads and point towards Minato and Natalie.

"Those two had a sparring match today..." Kieran starts to talk before Kiera picks up where he left off, "Yeah and Natalie won but those two were so _awesome_ that we want them to train us..."

"...but they told us to forget about it..." Kieran fills in as it causes their parents' heads to shift in his direction when he talks, "...but Minato says he will when we learn the basics."

Eva unknowingly peer over at her husband after he listen to their children's statement as it refer back to the subject of their conversation.

"I know for sure you two will become stronger. After all, you will have to protect not just your siblings but also your mother and I in the future. Do you understand that?" Aikka asserts in a solemn tone as he stares at the twins.

Kiera unknowingly reach for her twin's hand before the two simultaneously nods their head and verbally responds with "Yes, daddy. We will become stronger so we can protect everyone else."

Aikka ruffles both of their heads of hair, as the smile on their faces grows wider from their father's genuine appreciation.

"So you two had a sparring match today, huh?" Eva asks Minato and Natalie after the trio witnesses the display of fatherly love for his children.

Minato starts to laugh with his eyes closed while he scratches the back of his head. Natalie simply tucks her arms underneath her chest with a peeve expression on her face.

"I'll assume that it did not end the way you two wanted it to." Eva assumes after she studies the couple's reactions to her inquiry.

"Agreed." Natalie quickly agrees as it causes Minato to immediately cease his laughter and returns his arm back to his side.

"I think it ended rather nicely." Minato downplays his lost to Natalie to Queen Eva.

"...or should I ask the spectators for a play by play?" Eva threatens the blonde since there was this feeling that Minato was not being honest with her.

"That won't be necessary Queen Eva even Natalie agrees with me on this. Right, Natalie?" Minato poses when he faces Natalie for a reassure statement.

Natalie simply watches Queen Eva unleash her silent wraith out on Minato and actually enjoys the view.

'_So cruel…no wonder she's earn the nickname Cut Throat Eva. It time for plan B.' _Minato silently thought, as he had to rebound and turn the situation around.

"It's true Queen Eva. I requested for the spar and failed miserably to meet Natalie's standards of me so I lost." Minato consents while he maintains eye contact with Queen Eva.

He grew slight scared of the long hard stare that she gave him. His eyes catches her hand moving towards him as he closes his eyes.

"Good job Minato, I knew you had it in you all along." Eva proclaims with a wide smile on her face while she rubs the surface of his hair with her hand.

Natalie notices that Eva was now watching her before nodding her head in an up and down fashion.

Minato exhaled a deep sigh of relief as he managed to dodge the gates of hell even if he had tipped a little too close to the flames.

"Now you need to make your move before she loses interest in you." Minato listens to Queen Eva whispers in his ear.

'_How did she know? When? Where? What gave it away?' _the questions races through his thoughts after he processes what Queen Eva just told him.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere." She states as if she could read his thoughts while she maintains the same expression on her face.

'_How could King Aikka marry such a fearsome woman like Queen Eva?' _


	36. Disastrous Confession

"Alright you two, let's head inside for a little dinner." Eva suddenly orders her children as she breaks away from the potentially awkward moment.

Aikka rises to his feet when Kiera grabs one of her father's free hands while Kieran pushes his mother along in her wheelchair.

Natalie and Minato were the only two left from the original party as the awkward silence still hangs in the air.

"Is there anything else that needs to be done for today?" Natalie inquires toward the higher ranked officer.

Minato flashes her a weird expression when Queen Eva's advice flashes through his head again. _"Now you need to make your move before she loses interest in you."_

"No…not really. Why you ask?" Minato questions slightly curious as to why Natalie would ask him that particular question.

"Because you idiot I am tired and I want some sleep." Natalie supplies her answer to his question with no hesitation.

'_Well that part of the truth anyways…' _Natalie inwardly thought after she recalled what she just told Minato.

"I am too. We're not as young as we use to be." Minato jokes about their age as it earns no smile not even a tug at her lips.

"Ah come on…I'm trying to lighten this serious mood." He proclaims with a false expression of hurt on his face.

"Which you aren't obviously good at might I add? Is there something that you're trying to get at Minato?" Natalie inquires after she observes his weird actions.

'_Crap…she sees right through me.' _He inwardly cringes at the thought that his secret had already been discovered.

"I mean I wouldn't be able to hide anything from you even if I could. If it was something wrong, you wouldn't even have to ask you would know." Minato rambles on.

He stifles his chuckles while he scratches the back of his head with one of his free hand.

Natalie raises her eyebrows at the reaction to her question. "There's something that you're not telling me. How can you call me a friend when you can't even be honest with me?"

'_Does she sound concern?' _the question pops up in his thoughts.

Minato releases a sigh of frustration and with a determine and confident expression on his face he stares back at Natalie.

"Alright then, Natalie I…" Minato starts his statement but none other than the Avatar interrupts the moment.

"Yo Natalie!" he shouts a good distance away from the couple with his hand up in the air.

"What does he want now?" Natalie mumbles after she turns to face Jordan while he rolls her eyes.

'_It's a good thing I came when I did.' _Jordan inwardly thought to himself while he attempts to prevent a smile to surface on his face.

"I need to talk to you about something." He proclaims after he captures her attention from the blonde haired man in front of her.

"Just give me a second…" Natalie loudly declares just so he can hear before he returns her focus in on Minato.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me again?" Natalie repeats the same question once again.

"Oh yeah...that's right! Rick told me to remind you to fill out the security reports for when Princess Mai leaves." Minato conjures up a believable fib on the spot.

Natalie slightly tilts her head at an angle, _'He just wants to talk to me about a mission? There is something else that's bothering him.' _

"I can do that. Anyway, I need to see what this idiot over here wants. He usually doesn't bother this much unless he wants to really annoy me." Natalie complains about Jordan's sudden appearance.

'_Or when he doesn't want us to spend time together…' _Minato silently concludes about Jordan's quirk habit to pop up during their conversation.

"Just try not to take his head off…" he slips in along with another stifle of laughter.

Minato quietly treks down the corridor while Natalie strolls over to where Jordan waits for her.

Jordan gnaws at his lower lip in order to fight down a visible smile after he witnesses first hand the blonde's twit expression.

'_It's all too easy with that guy.' _ He joyfully concludes before he realizes that Natalie was now in front of him.

Her facial expression speaks volumes as it reads, "Let's get this over with..." or better yet "Start talking now, if not then I'm leaving."

"Alright, I was just coming to inform you that Princess Mai is going to be leaving Noursaia in a couple of days or so…" Jordan opts to mention Princess Mai's presence since it was commons ground of conversation for the two.

"Should I be concerned with any information that she might know?" Natalie poses to him in a stern tone.

'_This woman can't even have a polite conversation with me.' _Jordan wants to tell her but decides to act on it or evoke her wraith as a result.

"Oh no, she just express concerns that she wasn't able to explore much of Noursaia because her tour guide unexplained disappearances. So I think you all are still pretty safe."

"So what's the problem?"

"It's possible that they will start by blindly attacking and striking with nothing but raw and unnatural power."

"I think that can work out in our advantage. Yet sporadic attacks aren't good either since we cannot properly prepare for that."

'_So it seems as if the seed is still there.' _He inwardly thinks to himself while he directs his sight at the middle of her forehead.

Natalie could not shake the sense that while she chats with Jordan, he observes her private inner most thoughts without even having the need of close contact with her.

'_Something feels off here…' _she notes to herself .

Meanwhile with Minato,

He was walking down the hallway before coming face to face with none other than Queen Eva.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she inquires in a tone of curiosity.

"Am I not welcomed in your castle?" he questions as the look on her face reads something otherwise.

Eva shakes her head left and right before she asks him, "I mean why are you here when you should be confessing your feelings for Natalie at this very moment?"

Minato stared at Eva wide eyed as he only repeated partial of Queen Eva's question. "Confessing to Natalie?"

If Eva was able to freely move around while pregnant, she would slap Minato with the back part of her hand so hard that she would knock some common sense in to him.

So instead, she settlea for a gentle slap to her own forehead while she grumbles under her breath and shakes her head again.

"I gave you the _perfect_ opportunity! I can't believe you let it to slip through your fingertips Minato." She proclaims while she slams her hand on one of the armrest.

He was going to respond but she fired a question in his direction again. "How long will you be able to shield your true feeling away from Natalie without her noticing it?"

Minato's mind recall the conversation that he just had with the raven-haired woman where she was able to point out that something was weighing on his mind.

"_There is something right now that you aren't telling me. How can you call me a friend when you can't even be honest with me?"_

'_God how can I be so stupid!' _he considers to himself after he realizes the situation that he was given.

Eva quietly watches his actions before he releases a sigh of relief, _'Maybe he's not so slow after all…'_

"But what if…" Mintao speaks up again before he abruptly halts in the middle of his sentence.

He soon thanks the woman in front of him before he dashes off ahead in the same direction.

Eva was left wondering what her blonde haired friend was going to ask her before cutting himself off. Whatever it was she was just glad that he was going after what he wanted.

0000

"So are you planning to remain on guard till the rest of her stay here?" Jordan inquires once again as he brings the conversation back around to Princess Mai.

Natalie opts not to answer the question instead she replies with this, "Thank you for the information. Now if you don't mind, I will need some time to clear my mind so I can properly think of a plan."

Jordan senses that someone swiftly draws near them as it was none other than that blonde haired twit, Minato.

He advances a step closer to her as she fires him a warning signal, which he promptly ignores. Once the blonde haired male enters his field of vision, he makes his move on Natalie.

Natalie's eyes grow wide from shock before it registers in her head that Jordan currently kisses her on the lips.

'_No this bastard didn't!' _she mentally screams as her reflexes kick it as she uses her arms to shove him away from her.

"What's your freaking problem?" Natalie had to prevent herself from shouting the question.

Jordan did not immediately answer instead he cut his eyes in the direction to where Minato was only to feel a pain at his jaw.

"You bastard!" a voice that did not belong to Natalie registers in her head after he sees a blur of yellow enter her line of vision.

Jordan glances up with a look that appears to be one of shock and awe when in actually he plans for it to go down exactly like that.

The moment seems to last for eternity for Natalie while Minato moves at a faster pace.

However, the expression on Minato's face quickly snaps Natalie out of her daze.

She knows that if she did not immediately intervene then Mintao would ultimately lose against Jordan in his Avatar state.

"Minato, wait!" she screams in hopes that it would snap him out of his physical tirade.

However, it did not work when she watches him rear his fist back ready to launch for another punch.

This time it was her body that moves before her mouth could move as she find herself latch onto his waist with her other hand at his elbow.

"Minato...stop it!" she says loud enough for Minato to pause in the middle of his action.

She tightly squeezes his hips within her arms before she proclaims in a calm tone, "You're being an idiot right now! You need to use your senses!"

"Remember you're a _knight_! You must abide by that code, which you have sworn your life too." Natalie reminds him of his duties and responsibilities.

The tension in Minato's body seems to ebb away at the sound of Natalie's calm voice as she reminds of what was all was important to him.

Natalie feels the tense muscles in Minato's body release before he eases in to a normal erect stance.

"Don't ever try anything like that again! Do you hear me? Or I will break more then your pathetic little jaw." Minato issues out a threat towards a somewhat confuse Jordan.

Natalie exhales a sigh of relief after she accomplishes her small mission. It was at that moment did she feel Minato's hand on top of hers. He proceeds to yank her in the opposite direction of Jordan.

Minato was not able to identify whether or not it was adrenaline or anger or a need to protect Natalie that kept his heart rate at the increase rate it is now.

But one thing he did know for certain was that he needed to get whatever it was off of his chest before it turned ugly.

Minato paused after he walked a good distance away from where Jordan was probably just recovering from that nasty jab Minato placed on his jaw.

"Are you alright now?" she questions since she still notices the look of kill in his eyes.

He casts his harsh glare on to her as it feels as if she had just been slapped in the face by a superior officer as if she committed insubordination.

Minato suddenly remembers that the person in front of him was the one who prevents him from doing something so reckless. He swiftly softens the glare he directs to her.

"I'm fine. Thanks to you." Minato finally supplies an answer to Natalie's question.

"You had me scared there for a few minutes. I've never seen you that angry before in my life." Natalie frankly states, which causes a silently stab at Minato's heart.

'_Maybe Queen Eva was wrong…' _he thought to himself after he listens to Natalie's statement.

Natalie eases her shoulders until she, herself, stands in a relax position. _'Is that what has been bothering him…the Avatar?' _

"There's something that I need to tell you…" his voice reminds stern as he spoke to her.


	37. Confrontation

"There she is dad!" the sound of her son's voice catches Eva's attention once she rolls herself into the dining hall.

"Where did you roll off to that quickly?" Aikka poses toward his wife after aiding her to the table.

"Let's just say that I had to handle some business but you know how I am?" Eva answers in a nonchalant manner while waving off any doubts her husband had held.

Aikka nods his head to show that he agreed with his wife, "Whenever there is a place you need to be you will get there on your own."

Eva wore a smile small after hearing her husband's statement. "But you see I have a wonderful husband I can rely on now."

"You got that right." He places a quick kiss on her lips while their children simply turn their heads in an opposite direction.

'_Ew…cooties!' _the twins simultaneously thought with a expression of playful disgust on their face.

0000

Jordan casually venture in the direction of Rick's office while his hand attempt to nurse his sore jaw.

He reluctantly admitted that Minato's reaction slightly caught him off guard since he initially focused in on Natalie.

'_All of this could have been simply avoided if you never would have acted like a jerk in the first place.' _His consciousness belittle him.

Jordan simply ignore the voice that currently distract him during his thoughts to swiftly enact his revenge against the blonde haired twit, name Minato.

'_Your just jealous of him because he has relationship with Natalie while you two will probably will never have one.'_ The inner voice curtly retort_._

Jordan briefly halt in the middle of his stride to gently rub his temples since his consciousness constantly replay what occur earlier today.

'_Look here you are either with me or against me.' _Jordan mentally asserts.

_ 'If you choose the first choice then we can have our revenge however, if it is the other option then I will simply erase you from my mind.' _He provide an ultimatum to the inner voice.

The inner voice bluntly counter with, '_You are quite the pathetic child, Jordan!' _

_ 'As long as you have these emotions then you can never get rid of me! Whenever you gaze in to Natalie's eyes and that guilty sensation bubble up? That's me at work!'_

_'__So don't you ever develop the audacity to threaten me ever again in your lifetime, understood?' His consciousness fiercely counter._

Jordan simply tune out the voice in his head as if he skip over a song that he dislike.

'_Ah here we go…' _he think once he arrive in front of Rick's office.

_'...just the person to report to about this little incident.' _Jordan inwardly consider to himself after he knock on the door.

"Come in," the masculine voice loudly speak up from behind the door as he confirm the person's access.

Jordan frantically fight down the smile that desperately want to inch its way onto his face.

He cross the threshold of the office door when the masculine voice inquiry, "Hey there Jordan, is there something wrong?, after he study the present expression on Jordan's face.

Jordan instantly recognize right then and there that he could safely bank on Rick's inquisitive nature to be able to pick up his vibes.

He promptly clear his throat before he supply an answer to Rick's question in a solemn tone. "It's about Minato…"

0000

The tone Minato used when he said, _"There is something that I need to tell you…" _almost sounded as if he had a confession.

Minato continuously maintain his eye contact with Natalie, "I know I should have told you this from earlier but I was a stupid knuckle head and I didn't know any better at the time."

Natalie unknowingly held her breath since he referred to memories back in their shared past as children.

"I never wanted our friendship to be on hold for twelve years! That's an awfully long time." He verbally states with a shake of his head.

Natalie no longer maintain her direct gaze on Minato's face and divert her gaze elsewhere when she gently claim, "It was but it is something I don't regret though..."

"...and I have no time to regret things." She sternly state while she fiercely stare at him with fierce determination in her eyes.

Minato quietly released a sigh not sure if it was out of frustration or relief. Yet, he had to push forward if not he would not know what could happen next.

"I don't either but the reason why we lost contact was because I had to figure out whether or not things were true." He speaks up again.

Natalie soon grew irritated at the content of their conversation when she probed, "Why are _we_ here right now, Minato?"

"You have yet to tell me why you dragged me here. What are these things that you had to find out were true?"

'_Stubborn as always.' _He mentally assert before he warns her, "I don't want you to hate me or freak out after I tell you this."

"Look if you don't get to the point then I find this conversation totally pointless and stupid. I will have to leave!" Natalie harshly threaten him in hopes that she would be able to quickly extract whatever it is he want to tell her.

She suddenly feel Minato's grip around her hand tighten as if he did not want to let her go. "I like you a lot Natalie."

"Ever since the first time that we cross swords, I thought that you were very different from other girls. You thoroughly refused to allow yourself to be a damsel in distress and trained day in and day out to improve your craft. You have this stubborn and mean streak about you yet from time to time you show a gentler side to you. You constantly denied others help but you graciously accepted mines whenever I would offer it. I was utterly torn on whether or not I loved you as you or as a fellow warrior with a similar goal as mine or even as a close friend. It took me twelve long freaking years to just figure that out!"

All of a sudden, the oxygen suddenly escape from her lungs after she listen to his confession. _'Is that what has been bothering him?' _

Her heart felt as if it was about to burst out of her chest and land in the palm of Minato's hands. However, her levelheadedness swiftly develop a fear that lurk through the cervices of her consciousness that slowly creep up through her body.

She really did not know whether or not to confess similar feelings to him or turn around and for once in her entire life would she run with her tail between her legs.

Minato already knew that once he confessed to Natalie that her mental reaction would be similar to if he were to shove her in the deepest part of the ocean with no safety harness to help her stay afloat. She would constantly struggle in attempt to navigate her way through uncharted waters.

He could feel her hand slowly slip from within his grip, which instantly cause him to become fully aware of their surroundings coupled with her emotions.

_'I completely scared her out of her comfort zone.' _Minato mentally realize after he study the fearful expression that did not shift or alter to show either content or denial.

He inwardly assume to himself, _'She's going to reject my feelings.'_

Precious seconds seem to tick, tick and tick away when it feel as if someone suck the life right out of his body until he hear the magical words of, "I feel the same way," or "I do too."

Natalie personally did not know what to say or what to do. It was all just so unfamiliar to her and whenever she was not in control of a situation she would ultimately act humane and flee.

Minato instantly noticed Natalie shift one of her feet in the direction he literally just dragged her from. He already knew from experience that that was the early sign that Natalie was about to break out in to a mad sprint away from him.

"Before you take off..." he speak up, which halt her in her motion, "...if I made you feel uncomfortable in any way I sincerely apologize."

It was at that exact moment did Natalie undergo an out of body experience as it felt as if someone else occupy her body.

Natalie silently agree with her body movement as she step a couple of feet back before she take off in a sprint away from him.

_'I figured that would happened.' _He reluctantly assume as he watch her retreat down the farther end of the hallway.

For some reason, he soon find himself in pursuit in order to make sure that she would be okay and not attempt to run away once again.

"Minato," a stern masculine voice call his name, which cause him to slow his run down to a walk before he come to a stand position.

He idly rotated his head to face whoever it was that said his name in a certain fashion that instantly deemed this person as a figure of authority.

Minato came face to face with none other than his adviser with disappointment apparent on his face despite his eyes hidden behind dark tinted black sunglasses.

"I need to talk to you _now_." Rick proclaim in a solemn voice right before he signal for the blonde haired male to follow him.

He was hardly addressed in that tone unless he was caught doing other things than what was required of him or he was in some serious trouble.

Minato silently swore to himself that he spot a flick of golden light around a nearby corner before he saw a wide smile of satisfaction on Jordan, the Avatar, face.

'_That arrogant bastard…' _

0000

Eva thoroughly appreciates the guests' presence at dinner, which consists of her intermediate family.

Kiera and Kieran, her precious twins, animatedly recall the events from earlier that they spectate from their training.

However in the back of her mind, she wonder what took Minato so long to simply confess his deepest feelings for someone that he care about.

_'Even if she were to outright deny his feelings, they could at least come to dinner...' _Eva asserts as she stabs her fork in the meat.

_'He said that Jordan had interrupted them before he could even admit his feelings for her.' _She suddenly think after she remember her conversation with Minato from earlier.

_'Could he have done something to her?' _Eva promptly assume when she lay her fork on the side of her plate.

Eva was all too familiar on how Jordan operate whenever he desperately want something that he cannot have.

'_If Jordan did anything to that girl…I will never be able to forgive him as a Avatar but more importantly as a close friend.' _She solemnly claim once thoughts about Jordan's character come in to play.

For now, she simply has to hone in on first and foremost her important duties.: being a mother to her children as well as a loving and devoted wife to her husband.

_'I just hope that however it goes down that they can still remain friends even though it maybe hard for Minato since his feelings are so strong.'_

Aikka technically note that his wife was in the midst of a brief mental intermission while Kieran and Kiera merrily discuss about the rest of their day.

'_I wonder what's wrong? She's usually never this quiet at dinner.' _Aikka inquisitively note his wife's strange behavior at the dinner table.

0000

Minato hastily follow below Rick the entire time until he cross over the threshold of the raven-haired man's office.

"Have a seat." Rick's voice remain stern while he point his index finger toward one of the two chairs.

Minato already knew that there would be no usual run of the mill jokes and playful exchange of banters between the two. This was usual behavior right before he receive information or updates on the missions he was assigned to.

However, this time it was an official discipline meeting once he visibly identify a tape recorder present on Rick's desk as he occupy his seat.

Rick tediously shifted some papers from on top of his desk until he located the appropriate papers that was required for this meeting.

Minato know that the meeting would not officially begin until Rick press start on the tape recorder, verbally issue his official title, gravely state the name of the accuser and finally reveal the accusation before he issue inquires.

"Shall we begin?" Rick sharply ask more in the tone of an order rather than a question.

He press the record button after Minato advance his head forward to confirm his participation.

Minato rigidly maintain his demeanor and disposition throughout the entire process since he know that what he did was right.

"This is Sir Rick, Head Knight of the Knights of the Round, Captain of the Royal Family Guards, and Lead Enforcer for the Royal Family Security Taskforce. The accuser is the intergalactic ambassador, the Avatar, allege Sir Minato of battery and numerous death threats." Rick run downs the introduction for the case file.

"So where did this incident take place?" Rick begin his interrogation.

"A couple of minutes ago in the middle courtyard a couple of feet away from the dining hall." Minato calmly supply his response to the question.

"And this was only between you and the Avatar correct?" Rick inquisitively ask this time he shift his arms until they rest on the desk.

"Yes, the physical aspect is." Minato correctly respond as he keep his eye contact on his superior with his hands against the armrest.

"Define the physical aspect." Rick deliberately stated since he needed clarification on what was exchanged between the two.

"I threw a jab that landed square on his jaw." Minato clearly explain as he feel a quiet sense of pride that he hit someone that was considered untouchable.

'_Now I know exactly how Natalie feels when she punched that boulder a couple of days back.'_

"Are there any other people involved in the incident?" "Is there anyone else who could possibly serve as a witness for the confrontation?" "Care to explain what happened to cause this confrontation?"

_'Now I wish that I would have never stopped her.'_


	38. Seed of Lies

Natalie's feet randomly led her to where she knew was the perfect place for her to hide out from others in order to collect her thoughts or if she needed time to herself.

The conversation with Minato completely threw her thought process out of loop that she purposely blamed it on the sensation of vertigo.

Her footsteps loudly echoed against the cobblestone pavement as she silently prayed that Minato would not be able to hear the noise and use that to locate her.

Natalie's mind mentally combed through the blueprints of the castle that almost was essentially burned in her memory banks whenever she needed to find a decent place to hide.

The perfect destination suddenly surfaces in her thoughts, which causes her to briefly pause in the middle of her sprint away from Minato and Jordan.

_'That's perfect.' _She quietly agrees with her thought process since majority of the people who personally knew her knows that she hardly spends any time in her bedroom.

'_No one will even think to find me there.'_ She promptly assumes before she double backs until she reaches the respective flight of stairs.

0000

Jordan felt absolute pure ecstasy, a sensation that he only felt when he first discovered that he was in love with Eva or when he first encountered Natalie.

He knew that with the right amount of planning that his grand-master plan will slowly unravel exposing those around him without being able to retrace the origins back to his doing.

'_It was about time something finally went my way. Now all I have to do is just simply get rid of Princess Mai…'_

Where was this person at? He needed to locate the young lady to reassure his false participation in the plans to "_capture_" Eva's position and Aikka's heart.

Luckily for Jordan, he did not have to look too far nor search too hard because he found the young lady marvel at the flowers in the Royal family's garden.

'_I can't wait for this to be all mines…' _Mai inwardly asserts to herself while she critically observes some of Nourasia's finest floral arrangements.

"My, my, my Princess, are you interested in flowers?" a familiar masculine voice brings her out of her fascination with the flowers in her vision.

She peers upward to see the familiar sparkling golden light that she came to identify as none other than the Avatar.

"I always like vibrant things that catch my eyes." Mai honestly confessed with her eyes closed and a smile present on her face.

"You know...once it all works out you can wake up every morning and simply stare at them until your heart's content." Jordan hints as he shuffles a little closer to the princess.

"Is it that _obvious_ now?" Mai abruptly questions with the same expression on her face when she cups the flower within her grasp.

Jordan felt that he was being drawn in to her web of lies when he countered with, "I mean you're doing absolutely nothing to conceal your apparent feelings for the king, princess?"

"Then that means I am doing my job right?" She asks before she suggests, "If there is something that you really want then you won't hesitate to eliminate whoever it is that stand in your way? It does not matter if you do it in a methodical or a blunt manner."

"You of all people should have had that experience before, right Avatar?" She poses this time after she removes the flower from its stem to further admire the beauty.

_'She may not be as dense as I made her out to be. I need to be careful with this one.' _He inwardly noted to himself after he processed what Princess Mai just said to him.

"Plenty of times." Jordan honestly admits to the young woman, who squats right in front of him with her back to him.

"So do you not agree with my mindset?" she politely probes while she naturally maintains a sense of white light in her aura, which means she was being genuinely truthful.

"If I didn't then I would have already ratted you out." Jordan purposely states while Mai merely nods her head in agreement before she leisurely shifts down to another flower bush.

'_That was too close.' _Jordan inwardly considers to himself before he occupies an empty seat in the garden.

0000

"_Are there other people involved in the incident or who could serve as a witness for the confrontation?" "Care to explain what happened to cause this confrontation?"_

Minato silently knew that Rick finally asked the million-dollar question that would save his hid and exposed the Avatar for the liar that he is.

He clears his throat, scoots a little closer to the recorder, and speaks loud enough for the tape recorder to hear each and every word of his answer to that particular question.

"Yes. There's one other person, who served as a witness to the incident." He eagerly speaks up when he abruptly adds, "..._but_ before I reveal their identity I would like to explain in _detail _how the entire confrontation started."

"Go ahead." Rick verbally orders while he advances his head forward after his alters his posture to reflect that he now fully command his attention.

"After Queen Eva and I had our discussion in the hallway near the dining hall, I gathered the courage to confess my feelings to Natalie. After I rounded the corner, I spotted the Avatar physically forced himself on to Natalie since he clearly violated her personal area in an attempt to place a kiss on her lips." He briefly pauses before he include the most important portion of his statement.

"Might I go on record to report that this is the Avatar's _third _time that he has forced himself on the _same _castle guard within a couple of days without her verbal permission."

His statement seem to completely caught Rick off-guard, which immediately registered to Minato that the fire has been lit under the Avatar's behind.

"Why did you not immediately report the first two incidents in to your superior officer?" Rick inquisitively wonders. Minato identifies the inquiry as not just an authorize question but one that holds some personal feelings behind it.

"Paragraph four, section A, one through three clauses state that it is up to the _individual_ to report the particular incidents in to the superior officer for the sake of their privacy."

"So the Captain of the battalion #245, Natalie Andros, may serve as the lone key witness to this incident?" Rick technically clarifies while he constantly fights down the black rage that develop after he closely listens to Jordan's illicit actions toward his precious daughter.

"Yes, sir. However, I don't know if she is in the mood to discuss about the incident to anyone at the moment. The total shock of what just happen still has some type of affect on her." Minato forewarns Rick of Natalie's current emotional state.

"If there is anything else that you would like to add please say it now. If not then this discipline meeting is adjourned and the tape will be properly submitted to the authorities for further evaluation." Rick concludes the interview as one of his fingers hover over the white square button to stop the tape.

"No sir." Minato eventually states as he watches Rick press the stop button, reaches underneath his desk to produce a manila packet, removes the tape, drops it inside of the manila packet, and seals it back.

"You are dismissed Minato." Rick informs Minato that he was now allow to leave his office so he can process the tape.

"Off the record..." He suddenly verbalizes, which prompt the blonde haired male to divert his sights from the door and back on his superior officer. "I am glad you punched that doofus in jaw _if_ he attacked Natalie."

Minato nods before he departs from Rick's office when he contemplates '_...and here that idiot thought he was going to tie me up in my own country's joy stuck system. He can't even begin to fathom just how many people are in my corner.'_

'_Now I need to find Natalie…' _he mentally concludes once he finally emerges from his formal hearing.

0000

The comfort of solitude slowly started to become a drug for Natalie since it seemed that the more she attempted to exclude herself from society the more she would be drawn back in.

Her adopted father, Rick, was much of an exception to her thought process since without him she would not enjoy the life that she has now.

It was just that her terribly troubled childhood, she had desperately tried so hard to run away from only to find herself unexpectedly reflected back to that unfortunate day.

'_That fire…my father…my mother…' _she mentally recalls the various scenes from that horrible night as a painful sensation develops in between the temples of her head.

'_For some reason…I can only remember a very bright light and a strange man talking to me.' _She begins to remember the specific details of that night.

'_I had told him what happened and he responded that a smile would look so much cuter on me. Then he asked me if I wanted to play a game but I was in no mood.'_

'_Then there was that promise that voice held me to. What was it again?'_

'_Never forget me and continue to live.'_

She rest one of her hands in the middle of her forehead when she recall an odd yet warm sensation press against her skin and then a bright light appear from the location.

'_Something isn't right about that…' _she inwardly consider before she idly retreat to one corner of the room to take a seat so she can clearly think.

'_Next was my time at the orphanage…which is a total blur to me.' _

It was then that whatever happened during that time before Rick had adopted her from that place was a complete and total blank.

Natalie peers down at her hand in disbelief and reflects, _'When I was trapped in that underground area that strange man…he knew about me!' _

_"This picture before you is the group picture of children that we collected from various orphanage and as you can see yours was one of the chosen few." _He explained when she recignized that she was in the middle of the crowd of twenty-five kids with a wide smile evident on her face.

He even claimed, _"You are just a human being whose limits has been remove through rigorous military training that has been installed within you since you were a little child."_

_"Well it was a pleasure to see that at least one of the experiments survived."_

'_I'm not normal…even when I maneuvered through the underground passage with no light and no knowledge of the layout.' _

Then she clenched both of her fists until her knuckles turned pale white before she remembered how she smashed a solid rock boulder with her bare hands.

Natalie brings her knees closer to her body while she wraps her arms around her knees since she finds this position to bring her some sort of comfort.

'_I don't want to be here right now.'_ She considers to herself before she rests her forehead against her knees.

_0000_

"Now you two make sure you head on upstairs to get ready for bed." Aikka calmly orders his kids as he rests his fists against his hips.

The twins casually exchange glance with each other before they unanimously answer to the order with a "Yes father". The pair promptly execute a salute toward their father as a sarcastic gesture.

"Make sure that you two do everything correctly _this time_." Eva firmly stares in, which cause the twins to physically nod heir head in agreement.

The two dutiful parents watch over their children as they ascend the flight of staircase that lead to their shared room.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Aikka suddenly quips once the kids were out of sight and sound for the start of their conversation.

Eva peers up at her husband and realizes that her inner discussions were rather obvious to her ever so observant husband.

"Yeah. It deals with Minato and Natalie." She honestly admits to her husband before he faces in front of her.

"I mean their problem is similar to the one we had before we started to date, except it is way _more_ complicated then ours will ever be."

Aikka furrows his eyebrows at his wife's comments when he mentions to her, "Is it because there's a certain annoying individual who is constantly throwing himself at Natalie?"

"Yep. That would be the one." Eva verbally confirms her husband's guess at the particular individual identity.

"He seems to be doing that a lot around here. If he continues to disturb the peace in our home then I will have to ask him to kindly leave." Aikka calmly suggests, which oddly did not sit right in Eva.

"Your reaction right now is exactly what Jordan wants you to have. Trust me, Rick and I know how Jordan operates." Eva cautiously warns her husband once she immediately recognizes the current expression on Aikka's face.

"We can't allow him to abuse the people that we care about feelings." Aikka harshly speaks with irritation present in his tone. He then follows up with, "I will have to keep him under my watch."

"I can agree to that but you know that it can't be you nor someone Jordan is already familiar. The more time he spends with someone the easier it is for him to read their actions." Eva reminds him of his abilities.

Aikka simply nods his head to show that he comprehends his wife's request for him to do.

0000

Minato emerges from the formal discipline meeting with two evident emotions present on his face, the first was ire and the other was concern.

'_My revenge can wait…I need to see if Natalie is okay.' _He considers to himself as he deviate from his path to the Avatar.

'..._but where would she go…' _he wondered as he recall the direction that Natalie had stormed off in when she was angry at the fact the Avatar had forced himself on her yet again.

'_I don't think she left the castle grounds again because she already pulled that trick.' _Minato deduces based upon Natalie's track record of hideaways.

'_I mean there are plenty of places to hide not to mention the underground system but she wouldn't go to that extreme.'_

'_She just probably wants to be by herself again.'_

Minato was completely torn in between two feelings: one was uncertainty and the other was an indescribable sensation.


	39. Lonely Thoughts

'_I hate this feeling of…loneliness.' _Natalie inwardly contemplates to herself when she suddenly feels her legs start to painfully ache before she slowly stretches it back out to its full length.

She simply refused to venture back outside of her bedroom door only to be met with none other than the Avatar's presence.

'_What does he want from me? I didn't do anything bad to him.' _She wonders while she attempts to rationalize the intergalactic diplomat stances toward her.

'_Yet he can walk around freely as if he is some kind of a god.' _Natalie angrily notes to herself.

'_What kind of God uses misery, pain, and suffering to aim at someone's heart? When that very someone has continuously tried so hard to break away from it?_'

"I hate him for doing that." she utters as as she clenches one of her hands in a fist and slams it against the ground.

'_Now I do nothing but burn and destroy relationships that I establish with everyone because of his presence_.'

'_Still…I wonder who really cares about me enough to see past those faults that haunt me?_'

'_I just want to go to sleep now._' She concludes before she gently leans the length of her body against the wall while her head nestles in the corner.

0000

Minato was lost in his thoughts on what was the right thing to do for Natalie and the right thing to do for him.

'_If I only I had listen to Queen Eva and made my move earlier we wouldn't be in this predicament._' Minato mentally face palms his forehead since he did not heed Queen Eva's advice from earlier.

'_How can she possibly call me a friend when I could barely tell her what was really bothering me?_'

'_Still I feel like I'm partially to blame though…_' he inwardly considers when he suddenly recalls the expression on her face once he confess his feelings to her.

'_I knew she was going to freak out when I told her about my feelings, but why did I do it in that fashion?_'

'_I was torn on whether or not I loved you as you or as a fellow warrior or as a close friend to me._'

'_What kind of crap was I thinking then?_' Minato wants to repeatedly slaps himself in the face for being so naïve with his feelings toward Natalie.

He knew the root of the problem was none other than the Avatar, who tried to get him fired from his job through a web of lies.

'_What he doesn't realize is that he just revealed who he really is?'_ Minato conceives to himself.

'_...however my first duty is to my heart and I need to find Natalie before she hurts herself._' He clearly states his resolve.

0000

Jordan continuously observes Princess Mai's fascination with the Royal Family's garden when he unexpectedly spots Rick draw near the Royal Family Gardens.

Rick then executed an upper movement of his hand to signal for Jordan to follow him, which prompt him to wonder if he had properly disciplined Minato.

"If you will excuse me Princess Mai, it seem as if my presence has been requested." Jordan calmly voices before Mai glances in his direction.

She quietly tracks the Avatar's gaze over to where a man with long feminine raven black hair was poise with black shades that cover his eyes.

_'This doesn't look like it will end well.' _She inwardly predicts before she resumes her concentration on the flowers in front of her.

Jordan swiftly rises from his seat and speedily travels over toward Rick and curiously inquires, "Is there something wrong?"

"I just wanted to be clear about certain allegations that you brought forth about Minato, especially a solider of his nobility and stature." He explains the reason about his current presence.

Rick closely observes Jordan's facial expression when he hastily questions, "What are you trying to say Rick? That my case doesn't have a chance."

He releases a deep sigh of frustration when he comments, "Every Noursaia citizens is entitled to fair case because of due process of the law."

"Let me clarify to you that when you happen to assault the exact same officer on more then one occasion then the court will view it as harassment. So I will courteously extend this advice to you...I will allocate you a couple of more minutes to really think about _all _of the possible consequences that can and will arise within this case." Rick suggests to him before he departs from the Avatar.

'_Did Rick really try to vouch for that blonde pest? What has my friendships come down to?_' Jordan inwardly wonders to himself.

'_Your insane sense of personal greed and lust for a girl that doesn't want you has caused you to ruin them on your own accord.'_

'_Ah shut up…no one asked you for opinion!_'

0000

"Does Jordan's actions still bother you?" Eva curiously inquires to her husband since he was abnormally mute ever since her announcement.

"I just don't understand what he hopes to accomplish by destroying other people's feelings by making them drown and wallow in their own pain." Aikka explains his concerns to his wife.

Eva rotates her head until it returns to its original position. "He's one of those type of people who think that people are mere marionettes that he can possess and manipulate them as if he is the puppeteer."

Aikka sharply inhales a breath before he expels, "I hate people like that."

Eva judges from her husband's tone that he wants to punch Jordan in his face in order to release his built up anger.

"No you can't punch him in the face! He's the _freaking_ Avatar for crying out loud!" Eva hastily reminds her husband of Jordan's position.

"I don't even care if he was one of the High Priests…if he is doing wrong someone should put him in his place." Aikka verbalizes to his wife.

'_I have to calm him down before he burst a vein in his head from plotting on how to end Jordan's life._'

"How about this then..." Eva speaks up, which breaks her husband's concentration. "...if my plan does not adequately fall through to the point that Jordan can not rectify his actions then you can handle him in any humane and probable manner."

Eva silently prayed that due to her husband's fit of ire that he would recklessly select the hothead decision of yes. "Fine, as long as your plan doesn't work it is fine by me."

She happily cheered since she really knew her husband so well that she could almost predict exactly what he was going to say next.

"So now that we finally decided upon it how about we head to bed so I can get some sleep." Eva proclaims before she stifles a yawn with her mouth.

"If you say so…" Aikka states once he realizes how sleepy his wife was, '_I almost let my anger cloud my decision making blind me for the people that I care for._'

0000

'_What time is it?_' Natalie ponders before she lifts her forehead from the surface of her forearm so she could look around.

She stared out of a nearby window and recognizes that the once blue sky of the morning transitioned to a dark purple borderline black hue of light, which signals a late afternoon or early nighttime.

'_It's nighttime.' _She concludes after she peers out of the window before she revert back to her original position.

_'My neck feels really stiff.' _Natalie mentally claims when a painfully pinch at her neck made it slightly hard for her to turn her head until she thoroughly massages it.

She carefully stretches out her body since it had become quite stiff and tense.

Natalie critically scans her surroundings again before it registers in her head that she was currently in her bedroom by herself, all alone, uninterrupted, and still to herself.

Yet, there was a hidden longing that pang at her heart when she thought about the people that loved her once again cause her pain.

_'I don't deserve to be an officer…nor a captain of a battalion with my emotions scattered everywhere. My men would be highly disappointed in me._' She reminds herself of the responsibilities that she carries with her title.

'_I let dad down with my irrational and unpredictable behavior. I mean what kind of captain would abandon her post for the sake to avoid an intergalactic figure such as the Avatar just so she wouldn't lose her position!_'

'_Somehow Minato managed to find me and then I even revealed my horrible past to him just like the snap of a fingers. I even declared all the things that held my hatred for. Why?_' Natalie realizes before she covers her right hand to her face to block the blush that was present on her face.

Then there was the acceptance of a new duty with the title of "Godmother" from none other than King Aikka and Queen Eva, who holds her in such high esteem.

'_Then I just up and left Kieran and Kiera in a vulnerable position. I never thought that my actions would prevent them from their studies. Yet they kept me in their company with genuine feelings and was never really bothered about my sudden absences._'

'_How could I be so stupid?! Why don't I ever think my actions all the way through? Why can't I remember all of those faces that I hurt through my decisions._'

'_God I'm just like…_' The title almost ceases from the amount of animosity that this individual manages to build up inside of her.

However the thought seem to hold some truth which birth a sense of trepidation in her heart since it starts to all make sense to her now.

'_I can't sit here and let this develop any further! I have to get on my feet and correct my wrongs through my own self-will and power._'

0000

Minato knew he could not afford to waste any time whatsoever due to the fact that the odds of him being able to locate Natalie was now slim to none.

There were some signs of hope left in his heart whether it was for his own selfish desire to make her life happy or maintain a healthy friendship with someone he deeply cares about.

How his heart badly trembled at the mere possibility of being more than just friends but his mind continuously cycled through the rejection phase so he could be prepared.

'_If the Avatar wasn't here then this would not be such a difficult process._' Minato refers to the root of the problem.

'_He raises misery, sadness and grief in such a peaceful and serene setting of the Noursaia's Royal Family's Castle_.'

'_From what I have been able to gather, he had been particularly interested in Natalie from the very day that he got here. So that explains how he was easily able to get under her skin._'

'_Yet he seem to have gotten absolutely nowhere with her if he so call likes her that badly._'

'_...but then again Natalie isn't a normal girl that would fall head over heels for a man with a title of importance like the Avatar had hoped she would._'

'_Oh no that girl he knew by the name of Natalie Andros was in fact on the far end of the Avatar's predicted spectrum._'

'_I think he is so oblivious to the fact that his greedy and self-centered action to obtain someone that doesn't want to return his feelings is quite pathetic._'

'..._but I want the others to see and I know that from the interview that I had with Rick was that I had someone in my barracks._'

'_All that's left to do is for the King and Queen, who also shows signs of doubt in the Avatar himself, make a move. Maybe Queen Eva has a plan up her sleeve or could it be King Aikka?_'

'_Whoever it is…won't matter until I can see Natalie on my own to make sure that she does not rampage throughout the castle in her mood of despair._'

'So if I was Natalie…where would I want to hide so I can have as many days to myself and where I won't be disturbed?'

Once he processed that question, the answer nearly knocked him over as if he was hit with a blunt force object.

0000

Jordan stewed in his anger after being approached by Rick in the garden after he had completed the investigative portion of the allegations Jordan submitted to him.

'_I need for Rick to believe in an old friend and the friendship that we have before I was transformed in to this and him meeting Natalie._'

'_Still all is not lost…not ever since I had my little encounter with a new power that I discovered._'

'_Maybe there is a light past the horizon for this to work…if not I will just have to take manners into my own hand._'

'_Have you no shame about hurting the people you love and care for, for your own shameful and lustful dreams of a girl who wants nothing to do with you at all?_' his consciousness chimes in.

'_Ah for crying out loud…_'


End file.
